Renault Announces Price Increase for Entry-Level Hatchback Kwid

• Published On: 28 June 2019
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Renault India updates Kwid hatchback, makes it pricier.

Renault India recently updated their Kwid hatchback in India, and now the company has announced that there will be price hike for their entry-level hatchback. The French automaker said that their most affordable offering will see a rise in prices to the tune of 3%. The new prices for the Kwid will come into effect from April 2019. The new price hike for the small hatchback comes close to the heels of the car being updated in India. The recent update brought quite a lot of features aimed at making the car safer and compliant to Bharat New Vehicle Safety Assessment Program (BNVSAP) rules.

It must be noted here that the company did not announce the hike in price when it presented the new updated model of 2019 Kwid. Renault Kwid’s current pricing is placed in the bracket of Rs. 2.66 lakhs to Rs. 4.6 lakhs (all prices ex-showroom, Delhi).

The recent hike in price will see the Kwid’s prices climbing to Rs. 2.74 lakhs for the entry level variant and Rs. 4.72 lakhs for the top Climber model. The company has still not disclosed whether the hike in prices will be applicable for all the variants or different variants will see varying amounts of increase in prices. Launched in the Indian market in 2015, the Common Module Family-A (CMF-A) platform based Kwid created quite a bang in the market when it was first introduced. With a SUV-inspired design and class leading features Kwid soon became a huge success in the market as the customers were quite taken in by the fresh design of the car. The Kwid was so successful in the market that it soon went on to become the top seller for Renault and sold 2.75 lakh units so far.

Seeing the trend of auto industry, French carmaker Renault too has plans to electrify the Kwid hatchback and bring an electric model of the same sometime after 2020. Currently, the company offers Kwid with 2 engine options – an 800cc petrol engine rated for 54 Bhp and 72 Nm and the more powerful 1L 3 pot petrol engine rated for 68 Bhp and 91 Nm. While the two engines come with a 5 speed manual transmission as standard, the more powerful version also comes with an option of an AMT automatic transmission. As far as the competition goes, the Renault Kwid locks horns with Maruti Alto, Hyundai Santro and Datsun RediGo in the market.

Talking of the updates that the car witnessed in the 2019 version, the safety features that were added as standard for all variants were ABS+EBD, driver-side airbag, driver & co-driver seat belt reminder, and speed alert system. The upper and pricier models also feature a 7-inch MediaNAV Evolution touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay support. The more youth-centric design and plethora of features make the Kwid a very popular choice among entry-level car buyers and it remains to be seen as to how the small price hike impacts the overall sales of the entry-level hatchback.