THE big one for Renault in 1999 will be the little Cliovan, to be launched here at the end of March or early April. It was to have made its debut in right-hand-drive this month, but heavy demand for the passenger car Clio meant a delay in production for the load-lugging variant.

Since their launch in March, Renault's Kangoo and New Master have stormed up the sales charts. The Kangoo (4,378 units to November, 1998) outstripped the full year sales of direct competitors such as the Peugeot Partner and Volkswagen Caddy and the New Master (3,652 to the end of November) to move ahead of the Peugeot Boxer, Volkswagen LT and Transporter, Fiat's Ducato and Citroen's Relay.

Expect heavy promotion for both vans to continue throughout the year. Renault's LCV brand manager Simon Herbert said: 'The strong sales performance is a direct result of Renault offering an innovative and highly practical solution to van users which, unusually, also presents a distinctive and stylish image.'

A Chassis Double Crew Cab, featuring a second bench seat for four people, will be available in the New Master range from the beginning of February, adding to the 16% growth seen in the double cab market from January to November last year compared with 1997.