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The French hatchback, sedan and wagon won’t be imported to Australia anymore, leaving the Golf GTI and Hyundai i30-rivalling RS to soldier on alone.
Renault has removed the non-RS Megane from its Australian range, making the Clio and Zoe its only passenger car offerings Down Under.
Although some hatch, wagon and sedan stock remains in dealerships, the model has been removed from the Renault Australia website.
A company spokesperson confirmed the decision, telling the decision is designed to simplify the Renault range, and will allow it to position the Megane RS as premium, performance-oriented model, and Renault Sport itself as a halo brand.
Unlike Holden, which was forced to axe Astra variants because of supply issues, sourcing the Megane wasn’t an issue for Renault.
Renault Australia’s managing director told “the time was right to make the RS brand more desirable” by “focusing on the models that epitomise Renault’s passion for challenge and performance”.
Originally launched locally in 2004, the current Megane is the fourth iteration to be sold in Australia. The car’s most successful year was 2015, with hatch and convertible deliveries totalling 1550.
Although it competes in Australia’s most popular passenger car segment, the Megane has struggled for sales compared to the best-selling Volkswagen Golf, Mazda 3, Toyota Corolla and Hyundai i30.
With that said, it almost tripled Peugeot 308 sales last year, with 937 deliveries across the Megane hatch, sedan and wagon ranges. Only 15 have been sold so far in 2019. The hot Megane RS has found 155 homes so far this year, by way of comparison.
It isn’t exactly common, but the idea of only offering the performance version of a mainstream model isn’t unheard of. Ford will only offer the Fiesta in ST guise locally, amid declining sales in the light hatch market.
Volkswagen used to offer the Scirocco R as a standalone model, while Holden offered the previous-generation Insignia VXR with no mainstream range below it in 2015 and 2016, before the current model was revealed (and became our Commodore).
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