Mahindra and Mahindra, after ending its joint venture with Renault almost a year ago has now planned to rename the Logan as Verito. This probably marks the end of Renault’s co-existence with Mahindra completely. The joint venture’s only product, the Logan, had created some ripples in the Indian market after it was first launched for its frugal driving sense, no –nonsense design and affordable price.

Soon, things started going wrong for the Logan as there was a rift in the Mahindra-Renault camp. Last April, M&M and Renault had agreed to part ways from their joint venture, Mahindra Renault Pvt Ltd, that was formed in 2005 to produce and sell the Logan in India as the car failed to meet expectations.

M&M had agreed to buy out Renault’s 49 per cent stake in the JV for an undisclosed sum. The French auto major, however, agreed to continue to support M&M and Logan through a license agreement and supply key components, including the engine and transmission.

As per their understanding, M&M could use the Logan brand for 18 months after which it was to drop all the Renault badge from the product as well as dealerships.

Mahindra will market the Vertio as an entry level sedan in India. “We are delighted to announce that the Logan will now be called the Verito. It will sport the Mahindra badge and emblem,” the company said in a statement. The statement however did not specify if there has been any changes in the price of the sedan.

Currently the Logan, which is available in both petrol and diesel variants, is priced between Rs 4.67 lakh and Rs 6.47 lakh (ex-showroom) as per the company’s website.

M&M’s statement today did not elaborate on whether the Renault brand has also been dropped from the Logan showrooms.