Renault Austral: imminent arrival for the replacement for Kadjar

Silhouette, sketches, details and camouflaged prototypes: Renault has had a heavy hand on the teasers of its future Austral, but the manufacturer promises it to us, this time it is the last before the presentation of the replacement for the Kadjar on March 8.

It must be said that the stakes are high, the compact SUV segment having become one of the most popular on the market. But it was not Renault who took advantage of it. The proof, in 2021, barely 11,000 Renault Kadjars were sold in France, compared to just over 50,000 copies of its main rival, the Peugeot 3008 (source: C-Ways). Presenting a Kadjar that was probably too wise to stand out, and arrived on the market after many other competitors, Renault failed to establish itself in the compact SUV segment.

The manufacturer has since reacted by presenting the Arkana, a second compact SUV, this time with a “coupé SUV” body. Launched last June, it sold almost 18,000 units in France in 2021 (source: C-Ways), thus greatly exceeding sales of the Kadjar over the same period. It is therefore an undeniable commercial success, but still with an aggressive pricing policy that does not allow significant margins for Renault.

A new name for a new strategy

The Austral, meanwhile, presents itself as the direct replacement of the Kadjar. The recipe should however evolve, as symbolized by the name change, and Renault does not intend to make the same mistakes as with its predecessor. The Austral will embody the manufacturer’s new strategy, as part of the “Renaulution” led by Luca de Meo, CEO of Renault Group.

Thus, Renault wishes to reorient itself towards the higher segments (segment C and above), which are more profitable. The objective set last year is to increase the average transaction cost of the brand’s cars by €7,000 by 2025. To meet this strategy, the Austral should therefore see its price increase compared to the Kadjar, which also benefits from very significant discounts. The positioning of the Renault SUV should thus be closer to that of the Peugeot 3008, which has no trouble finding customers despite high prices.

In terms of design, the latest sketch published by Renault and the other teasers already presented show a more muscular style than the Kadjar. We should also find Renault’s new stylistic codes, some of which have already been seen on the electric Mégane E-Tech, such as the brand’s new logo.

The interior will also use the layout of the latest electric Mégane as well as its OpenR Link interface, based on Android Automotive. As for the materials and their assembly, the emphasis will be on improving the perceived quality compared to the Kadjar.

Like the Arkana, the Austral will ignore diesel and will only offer electrified gasoline units. We will find the 1.3 TCe mild-hybrid 12V (mHEV) that we already know, as well as a new 1.2 TCe mild-hybrid 48V. In addition, the Austral, which will be based on the new CMF-CD3 platform, will have a new generation E-Tech Hybrid (HEV) version. With a view to moving upmarket, the Austral will offer up to 200 hp. For the moment, however, no rechargeable hybrid engine (PHEV) has been announced, while this type of offer is increasingly popular in the segment.

For the rest, we will have to wait another two short weeks before discovering the Austral in detail.