The Kwid small car is Renault’s most affordable offering in India and also the world, it is aimed to bring in the volumes and will be launched in the festive season to compete against a host of entry-level small cars.
Renault India has had its fair share of hits and misses in its decade-long existence in the Indian market and in the more recent times, the French automaker had the Duster that catapulted the company’s fortunes in the sub-continent. That said, it also had the badge engineered Pulse and Scala to its credit that never really took off. But if you are an automaker in India, you need to break into the volumes game and that is exactly what Renault is doing with the new ‘Kwid’ entry-level small car that it has globally unveiled today. The main rivals of the Renault Kwid (codenamed XBA) are the Maruti Alto and Hyundai Eon.
The new Renault Kwid is based on Renault’s Common Module Family – Affordable (CMF-A) platform (first car to use this platform) that has been jointly developed by the Renault-Nissan alliance. The CMF-A platform has helped reduce around 30 to 40 percent of the entry cost on every model and also 20 to 30 percent reduction in parts cost for the alliance. In terms of design, the Renault Kwid is tall in a bid to maximise space and features a 3D honeycomb mesh grille, roof mounted antenna and body cladding but the mirrors and door handles are not body coloured. It has a ground clearance of 180 mm.
The rear features the tastefully done tail lamps which compliment the front fascia well, the Kwid looks like a mini-Duster and measures 3.68 metres in length. That said, cost cutting is evident with the three lug nuts on the wheels. The model unveiled features steel rims with wheel covers. On the inside, the cabin is simple and space has been visibly scooped out, it has the highest knee room in its class. The vehicle is feature loaded and also has a 6-inch touch-screen infotainment system with navigation, the cluster carries a digital speedometer. The steering wheel is chunky and appears nice to hold while there seems to be decent storage space too.
The Kwid is Renault India’s most affordable offering (also the cheapest Renault in the world) that is aimed to bring in the volumes for the French automaker. The small car will be launched by November 2015 and will have prices starting from Rs. 3 lakhs going up to Rs. 4 lakhs (ex-showroom). Power will come from a 800cc, 3-cylinder engine, the company claims it will have class leading fuel efficiency. An AMT equipped variant will also be offered. The vehicle has 98% localisation which is the most for any car in India. Renault is offering a driver side airbag on the Kwid but only as an option.
Nissan will launch the Redi-GO next year but it won’t be a cross badged product and will be competing in a different segment. The Renault Kwid will not be launched in Europe. The car won’t be rebadged as a Dacia either. Renault aims to make India its fourth largest car market in the world after China, US and Japan.
