Renault Kwid to get 3 % pricier from April 2019

Renault India has just accounced that its entry-lebel, best selling offering – the Kwid hatchback – will get up to 3  % pricier from April 2019. Renault updated the Kwid in 2019, and added a slew of safety features in order to make the  car comply with the upcoming Bharat New Vehicle Safety Assessment Program (BNVSAP) regime.

While introducing the 2019 Kwid with the additional safety features and various feature changes, Renault did not  increase the prices of the car. Currently, the Renault Kwid’s variants are priced between 2.66 lakhs, ex-showroom  Delhi for the base STD variant and Rs. 4.6 lakhs for the top-end Climber variant. Rivals of the Renault Kwid include the Maruti Alto, Hyundai Santro and Datsun RediGo.

A 3 % price increase would mean that the 2019 Renault Kwid will start from around Rs. 2.74 lakhs, and go all the way  up to Rs. 4.72 lakhs. What’s unclear though is whether the price increase will be uniform across variants or if  Renault will choose to vary the quantum of price hike across each variant. Based on the common module family-A (CMF-A) platform, the Kwid was introduced in India during 2015. Within weeks, the car went on to become Renault’s most  successful offering in India, and continues to be a best seller. Renault has sold 2.75 lakh units of the Kwid in  India, and the car is also exported to many countries around the world.

Meanwhile, Renault has plans of introducing an all-electric version of the Kwid post 2020. For now though, the  Renault Kwid is available with 2 engine options – an 800cc petrol motor with 54 Bhp of peak power and 72 Nm of peak torque, and 1 liter-3 cylinder petrol motor with 68 Bhp of peak power and 91 Nm of peak torque. Both engines get 5 speed manual gearboxes as standard while the bigger engine gets an AMT option as well. As for the additional features on the 2019 model, Anti-Lock Braking System with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (ABS with EBD), Driver airbag and Driver & Co Driver Seat belt reminder, speed alert are now standard across all variants.

The higher variants of the car also gain a new 17.64 cm Touch screen MediaNAV Evolution, which adds Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, two very popular Smartphone interface systems on vehicles. The Renault Kwid’s biggest strengths is its affordable price tag, butch looks and AMT option. The car is built at the Renault-Nissan joint manufacturing facility in Oragadam, Chennai. The Kwid shares its platform with the Datsun RediGo, another entry-level car sold by Nissan at a slightly cheaper price tag compared to the Renault hatchback. Notably, the CMF-A platform will underpin an affordable MPV, which will be launched in India by the middle of 2019.