The Renault XBA will be officially unveiled on 20th May in the country with production to happen at the Renault-Nissan alliance plant in Chennai and will come with a starting price of around Rs. 3 lakhs.

Renault XBA Production Spec Test Mule — The XBA will be sporting the company’s new design language with the big diamond in front

Renault India will be entering the highly competitive entry-level small car market this year with the XBA (codename) hatchback that is scheduled to be unveiled on 20th May. The upcoming XBA is an extremely important offering for the French automaker and is expected to be a major volume puller for the company after the Duster. With just a week left for the unveil, our reader Jefferson Stainer spotted the XBA wearing complete camouflage showing some details of the much awaited small car.

The Renault XBA (likely to be called Kayou) features a tall boy design taking cues from the Datsun Redi-GO concept and will get large headlamps along with a bold grille featuring the automaker’s diamond logo. Though not completely visible, expect to see a striking tail light cluster design at the rear while there is also a centre mounted stop light. The test mule spotted was in the range-topping variant as it featured wheel covers on the steel rims, but the tyres only get three lug nuts to keep costs in check (when was the last time you saw a car with three lug nuts?).

Based on the CMF-A low-cost platform, the upcoming Renault Kayou will be powered by a newly developed 800cc three-cylinder petrol engine that will be tuned to produce around 45-50 BHP of power, paired to a 5-speed manual gearbox. There were also reports of Renault planning to source AMT units from ZF Sachs that could be available on the XBA right from the start. A 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine is also under development in Renault’s R&D centres and will be later introduced on the Kayou.

On the inside, cost cutting should be expected and you can also witness certain parts coming from the Datsun GO on the XBA. The small car will come with a starting price of around Rs. 3 lakhs (ex-showroom) and will be retailed in 3-4 variants. The company will produce the new XBA at the Renault-Nissan alliance plant in Chennai while other emerging markets will also get the hatchback with production also happening at the automaker’s Moroccan facility in West Africa.