Renault Oz considering new Grand Scenic

Renault Australia may have ruled out the new five-seat Scenic people-mover unveiled at the Geneva motor show in March (pictured), but it's working on a business case for the next-generation Grand Scenic seven-seater that's yet to be revealed.

Indeed, in the absence of a seven-seat version of this year's bigger new Koleos SUV, managing director Justin Hocevar told motoring.com.au that the next Grand Scenic's SUV-like appearance makes it a serious chance for local showrooms.

Hocevar said yesterday that it was only when he and his product team took a closer look at the Grand Scenic from a non-MPV perspective that it began to make sense for Australia.

“Early this year we engaged with the program responsible for Grand Scenic. We’ve been over there -- myself and our product team -- we’ve received the presentation and understand the vehicle quite well now," he said.

“I think when you move away from the academic exercise of what’s going on in the category, who’s in there and what are they fighting for, and you look at the vehicle and what they’re trying to achieve by blending two worlds -- it’s still an MPV with all the modularity and functionality, low floor plan and driving experience that you expect from a Renault MPV -- but with the visual appeal that brings a bit of crossover to it.

“So when you start to blend it with the real, tangible elements of this design, and the vehicle, it has made us re-think our position on it.”

Renault doesn't currently sell any Scenic people-mover models in Australia, but Hocevar believes the new Grand Scenic has the potential to attract SUV buyers here.

“Personally, I think it is a bit [of a game-changer in the MPV segment]. If you look at the volume of 4x2 sales in medium or even large SUV now, people are purchasing these vehicles for reasons that have very little to do with the origins of these vehicles’ DNA.

"In fact, they end up with compromises as such. I think if you can offer them a raised seating position, great visibility through a great open glasshouse, modular seating and everything -- a proper seven-seater, not a five-plus-two -- efficiency and a driving experience that is probably more car-like than SUV-like…

"The sum of these things could give it appeal to say ‘OK, we could actually win some SUV sales' rather than just saying 'we’re going to get X percentage of the MPV market, which is pretty small’.”

Hocevar believes the Grand Scenic could chip sales away from both the medium and large SUV segments.

“I’d like to think it could potentially compete with, let’s say, upper medium and the smaller side of large [SUV segments] -- smaller 4x2 seven-seaters like Captiva 7, perhaps a lot of people who used to buy Territorys who wanted the third row because a lot of those were sold in 4x2.

"But also perhaps people who might’ve been buying the medium-sized Outlanders, X-TRAILs and RAVs with the plus-two in the back.”

Renault has already said it will not import the new five-seat Scenic, and Hocevar cautioned that the next seven-seat Grand Scenic was not guaranteed for Australia.

“It certainly wasn’t a goer for Australia. It’s not a car that is absolutely in our pipeline.

"We’re working on a business case; it’s early days. It’s certainly by no means a definite, but it’s certainly something that’s got our interest. In the next six months we’ll know if we pursue the project or not. If we do, all in all it could go for 12 to 18 months.”

Hocevar said that because the Grand Scenic wasn’t considered from the inception of its program, it will take longer to evaluate for Australia.

“The process, if you weren’t part of the program initially for launch, you’re not part of the go-to-market strategy, you’re coming in after. From a homologation perspective, from an Australian specification perspective … you’re behind the eight-ball a little bit.”

It is believed that the new Grand Scenic, based on the Scenic’s CMF platform that's shared with new Megane, will ride on an extended wheelbase and/or an elongated body. It's expected to debut at this year’s Paris show in October, with European sales to begin shortly after.

Australia's people-mover market is relatively tiny. While Kia's Carnival leads the large MPV segment with 1523 sales so far this year, sales of smaller people-movers are at a dribble, with the Kia Rondo finding just 48 homes this year and the Citroen C4 Grand Picasso only 40.

In stark contrast, the SUV market is booming, with mid-sizers like the Nissan X-TRAIL, which offers up to seven seats, notching up almost 6000 registrations year to date.