Renault Duster beats the longest best-selling SUV

The new kid on the block, Renault’s Duster compact SUV has managed to overtake the Mahindra Scorpio in terms of sales!

The Scorpio which has been one of the most popular SUVs in the Indian market now seems to be losing steam. The Duster started off by selling 1,194 units in July 2012; the Scorpio was 3,184 units ahead of the Duster in July and sold 4,378 units.

However, the Renault Duster soon started to catch up with the Scorpio and sold 3,184 units in August, which was a healthy jump of 1,990 units! The Scorpio was still ahead of the Duster in August with 4,204 units on the sales chart. The upward trend continued for the Duster and Renault sold 4,211 units of the Duster in September. With that figure it finally overtook the Scorpio which has sold 4064 units in September by 147 units

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Renault Duster vs Mahindra Scorpio

The Duster and Scorpio may be in different segments but their prices overlap across variants. The top of the line Renault Duster RXZ (O) 110 costs Rs. 11.69 lakh which is close to the top end manual 2WD Scorpio (VLX) which costs Rs.10.80 lakh. Similarly the base 85 bhp Duster RXE costs Rs.8.39 lakh which is priced close to the Scorpio LX which costs Rs.8.35 lakh.

That indicates, buyers are choosing the Duster over the Scorpio even though the Scorpio offers more space at a slightly lower price. The Duster bulid-quality, compact yet SUV like design has become a hit among customers. Moreover the Scorpio is now old and dated in terms of looks and buyers are looking for something fresh; that is where the Duster delivers.

What according to you has allowed the Duster to overtake the Scorpio in terms of sales? Share your opinions in the comments section below.