Renault offers free fuel with Kangoo and Trafic

RENAULT is offering a free $1000 fuel card to anyone who buys and takes delivery of one of its slow-selling Kangoo or Trafic van models in February and March.

Renault claims that at current diesel fuel prices, the 1.5-litre turbo-diesel Kangoo compact van – with official consumption figures of 5.2l/100km – could travel 14,400km on fuel bought on the card.

The larger Trafic van could theoretically travel 9000km on the same offer.

In December, Renault released the redesigned Kangoo with a substantially larger payload of 800kg in diesel form (up from 530kg) and 650kg in the petrol model (up from 530kg).

The French manufacturer has sold 1.5 million of the small vans in Europe over the past 12 years, making it number one in its segment. It has struggled to notch up similar success here, however, with VFACTS recording just 70 sales in 2010 and eight units in January this year, placing it well behind European rivals like the Volkswagen Caddy and the Citroen Berlingo in the sales race.

Meanwhile, the larger Trafic van managed just 159 sales for 2010 (VFACTS), compared with rivals such as the Toyota Hiace (7610 sales) and Volkswagen’s Transporter (1630 sales).

Renault Australia managing director Justin Hovecar said the offer would attract small business clientele to its light-commercial fleet.

“Many of our light commercial vehicle customers run small businesses and we are certain this offer will really add value to their decision to purchase a Renault LCV,” he said.

“The timing for the free fuel offer is perfect, because right now many fleets and small businesses are turning their attention to end-of-financial-year asset purchase planning.

“We are conscious of the ever increasing costs that are hitting small businesses and we wanted to make a meaningful contribution to their bottom line.”

This offer excludes government contract sales, fleet special assistance sales and superseded models, but dealer demonstrators are eligible for the scheme.

In January, Renault announced free scheduled servicing on its Koleos compact SUV range for the first three years or 40,000 km, ending on March 31.

Renault finished 2010 by appointing new managing director Mr Hovecar in September and introducing hatchback, coupe-cabriolet and high-performance Renault Sport versions of its Megane small-car range in October.