The Renault XBA small car is undergoing the final phase of testing and will come with a starting price of Rs. 2.5 lakhs and will be available in 3-4 variants. It will be unveiled on 20th May 2015.
Renault India is looking forward to an exciting 2015 with the newly launched Lodgy expected to do brisk sales while it will also introduce the XBA (codename) small car in the country to compete against the Maruti Alto, Hyundai Eon and the likes. With the final phase of testing commenced, a recent report suggests that Renault could name the XBA hatchback as ‘Kayou’ which translates to ‘commute’ in Japanese. Given the fact that the French automaker is using more nameplates starting with ‘K’, there is a higher possibility that the Kayou moniker will stick around on the production-ready XBA.
The new Renault Kayou is based on the low-cost CMF-A platform and shares several design traits with the Datsun Redi-GO concept showcased at the Auto Expo last year. The Kayou features a tall boy design, puny wheels and will be powered by an 800cc three-cylinder petrol engine tuned to produce around 45-50 BHP of power, paired to a 5-speed manual transmission. Renault is likely to introduce an Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) later in the timeline while earlier reports suggest of a 1.0-litre three-cylinder motor to be in the works as well.
An important model for Renault India, the automaker will also retail the Kayou in Eastern Europe under the Dacia brand and will price the model around 5000 Euros while the prices for India will start at Rs. 2.5 lakhs (ex-showroom) for the base version. The small car will be offered in three-four variants with production taking place at the Renault-Nissan facility in Tamil Nadu. Apart from India, the Kayou will also be produced at the company’s Moroccan facility in West Africa. To be sold as the Datsun Redi-GO and the Renault Kayou, the automaker will be able to justify the volumes on the small car.
Source – MotorOctane.com
