Renault Australia is confident that new, in-demand stock of its robustness will arrive duster Small SUVs will boost sales, even as a key rival – the ever-popular three-door Suzuki Jimny – has returned with a series of upgrades.
The Duster has struggled to sell significant numbers since its local launch in mid-2025, recording just 302 deliveries in the last eight months. Although Renault only recorded 4569 sales last year, the Duster is still well behind the brand’s best-selling Master and Trafic vans, as well as the Koleos SUV.
Meanwhile, the Jimny – one of the Duster’s most direct competitors – has recorded 1,207 sales so far in 2026 alone, despite the popular three-door variant only returning from a nearly year-long hiatus this month. Suzuki Australia even reported around 600 repeat orders for the three-door model.
Renault Australia general manager Glen Sealey says the introduction of additional Duster stock, including variants not available at launch, should result in a healthy increase in sales.
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“When we launched the Duster, our stocks were tight and that’s what we said; we didn’t think we would get stocks before this year,” he told the media at the local launch of the Renault Scenic E-Tech.
“What we’ve seen for Duster is that the Techno 4×4 is just starting to come out and we’re actually seeing pretty good demand for it. But we’ve also seen the 4×2 really take off once stocks increase.
“You’re always worried about your competition, but no, we haven’t seen the impact (Jimny) has on that yet.”
While it was available to order at launch, Renault Australia had announced that deliveries of the flagship manual Duster Techno 4×4 would not begin until December 2025 at the earliest. The brand expects this variant to be popular despite its top trim status due to its features and off-road capable powertrain.
Additionally, the French brand confirmed that it has secured additional stock of the 4×2 Evolution and Techno variants, which are front-wheel drive and automatic only.
Mr Sealey also added that the Australian Government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Scheme is a concern and may limit the Duster’s volume as the brand works to introduce new electric vehicles (EVs) such as the Scenic E-Tech.
“Of course, with the regulatory mix we have, you can only sell so many cars with CO2 emissions above the prescribed level for it to work,” he said. “We’ve seen it go back up, but it’s around the level where we can sell.”
Put simply, NVES will require brands to meet increasingly stringent average CO2 emissions standards in the coming years or face penalties.
Although Renault was one of several brands to hit the first fleet-wide CO2 target, avoiding penalties for now, the Duster emits more CO2 (albeit just 129g/km) than the NVES target of 117g/km for passenger cars in 2026.
The NVES push was also acknowledged by Suzuki Australia general manager Michael Pachota, who promised to “ensure the fun always remains affordable for Suzuki customers” as his brand introduces new hybrid and electric vehicles such as the Vitara Hybrid and e-Vitara.
For comparison: At 146 g/km, the Jimny also emits more CO2 than the current NVES limit and more than the Duster.
While Renault had previously stated that it expects the Duster to appeal to Jimny buyers, the two SUVs are quite different in concept – the former features unibody construction while the latter is a more robust body and frame off-roader.
However, the prices are similar. The entire Duster range still costs between $31,990 and $37,990 (on-road), while the three-door Jimny costs between $31,990 and $36,490 (on-road) and the five-door XL costs either $34,990 or $37,490 (on-road) for the manual and automatic, respectively.
The Jimny’s base price increased by $1,500 with the 2026 update and is now $8,000 more expensive than when it was introduced in 2019.
Mr Pachota previously confirmed that the Jimny’s recent price increase was “purely due to specification updates” and claimed that the small off-roader was “here to stay” despite pressure from NVES.
However, it remains to be seen whether the Duster can overtake the increasingly expensive Jimny in the sales charts.
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