Renault Kwid Sedan, which will go on to become a cheaper alternative to Maruti Dzire and a direct rival of the Tata Tigor, will launch in 2021
Renault, the renowned French carmaker, has been working on a slew of new models in order to establish a strong foothold in developing markets like that of India. The first of these vehicles is the Triber, a low-cost MPV that has been doing well on the sales charts of the Indian market.
Next, the company is also readying a low-cost sub-4-metre SUV that will be positioned lower than the Maruti Vitara Brezza. However, the company’s new car onslaught won’t end here as it would even launch a Kwid-based sedan that will be cheaper than the Maruti Dzire. The Renault Kwid sedan could even have a pricing edge over the Tata Tigor.
The Renault Kwid sedan, along with the Triber and the Kwid-based SUV, should help the carmaker double the sales in Indian market to 150,000 units by 2022. The upcoming sedan has been internally codenamed LBA and will be based on the same CMF-A+ platform that underpins the Triber and will even form the platform of the upcoming SUV.
Speaking to select media, Venkatram Mamillapalle, Managing Director and Head of Renault India Operations has said that the Renault LBA project, which was earlier suspended, has been resumed and is underway at full swing. That said, the top management has refrained from announcing a launch date. Even details of the engine and transmission are unknown at the moment.
However, we expect the Renault Kwid sedan for the local car market to be equipped with a BSVI-compliant 1.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine that will even power the SUV sibling. Thanks to the stringent emission norms, there won’t be any diesel engine variant owing to low feasibility.
In all likelihood, the Renault Kwid sedan will be available with two transmission options – 5-speed manual and 5-speed AMT. The latter should help the new model capitalize on the increasing demand for automatic transmission-equipped models.
Rendering Artist: Kleber Silva