Renault ute set for motor show reveal

The company most famous for its rip-snorting Megane RS hot hatches, Renault, has released two teaser images of its upcoming 'Sport Utility Pickup', a lifestyle-type ute which will be based on Dacia underpinnings – a budget brand not available in Australia.

The teaser images indicate Renault's first ute will feature a curvaceous exterior design sharing similarities with the Brazilian-designed, Renault-owned Dacia Duster Oroch ute concept from 2014, including the roof racks and flared wheel arches.

Renault says the new ute will inherit "all the qualities behind the success of Duster" and will feature "real double cab with four doors, five seats and a generous bed".

The ute, which is expected to be sold under the Renault badge as the Oroch, was designed at Renault’s DRAL Latin American design centre in Sao Paulo and is understood to be based on the existing Dacia Duster LCV.

Unlike heavy-hitters such as the Nissan Navara and Ford Ranger, the Oroch will almost certainly be based on a passenger car-like monocoque construction.

The new ute is due to be unveiled at the Buenos Aires Motorshow on June 18 and certainly shows no indication of being related to Renault’s upcoming, Navara-based one-tonne ute.

As Denis Barber, senior vice president of Dacia, said at the Oroch’s 2014 Sao Paulo reveal: "Based on the Renault Duster, which is one of our best-selling models in the region, the show car explores the world of pick-ups – a segment we’re absent from at the moment but which totals around 900,000 vehicles sold each year (in Brazil)."

That doesn’t look like translating into the Australian market. Despite Hyundai’s dabbling with the idea of a Tucson-based Santa Cruz ute. Renault doesn’t see any place for such a vehicle in its Aussie future.

Renault's Australian Corporate Communications and Sponsorship Manager Emily Fadeyev previously told motoing.com.au that "No Dacia products are on the agenda for Australia."