Renault Alaskan ute up close at the Paris motor show
A year after it debuted in concept form, the Renault Alaskan is still yet to be confirmed for Australia.
The new Renault Alaskan light commercial ute, making its public debut at the Paris motor show this week, should be the truck that carries the company to a higher profile, bigger sales and increased profits, but unfortunately the slavering local dealers will have to wait, because the French have no “concrete” plans to bring it down under.
The boss of Renault Australia, Justin Hocevar, says he would, of course, like to have had the Nissan Navara-based pick-up in his showrooms yesterday, but he was forced to sit next to his Asia Pacific boss, Gilles Normand, in France and smile as we were given the bad news.
“Obviously we would like the Alaskan, it’s going to be ready for right-hand drive and it’s on the table but it’s not confirmed at this time, there’s nothing concrete for the region,” Normand, the regional director, said.
It’s our first one-tonne pick up, we want to make sure we do it right.
“But definitely we are very impressed… I’m convinced it is a very good car for the Australian market.
“It’s our first one-tonne pick up, we want to make sure we do it right.”
Pressed on even a ballpark figure for what year the Alaskan might arrive in Australia, Normand insisted he could not “disclose that information”.
Nor could Hocevar enlighten anyone, although there appeared to be shiny patches on the knees of his suit where he’d been begging and pleading with his employers to get it sooner.
“Australia has always been part of the plans for the Alaskan, and it remains very important to us,” Hocevar said.
“The issue is being able to communicate when we will be the market in the series of rollouts. If you look at Koleos, for example, we’ve got that on sale now, but it hasn’t even launched in Europe, so sometimes it goes differently.
“If I look at the Australian market, it’s a big, buoyant, growing segment, and a very important segment from a profitability point of view for an auto maker.
“Obviously we’ll be eagerly champing at the bit for our turn to come.”
Hocevar says Renault’s point of difference with the Alaskan, when it arrives, over its engineering twin-under-the-skin, the Navara, will be its styling (it has got a prettier face), pricing and overall cost of ownership.
It’s not even yet officially decided where the Alaskans will be built yet, with plants in Spain, South America and possibly Thailand under consideration, but Hocevar was hopeful the __cars we eventually get will be fitted with ISOFIX child-seat hooks, unlike Australian-spec Nissan Navaras.
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