Renault Kwid will get three new models

Yes, there will be different kinds of Kwids soon on Indian roads. The Renault Kwid has managed to establish the french brand as a serious player in the Indian market. The success that the Kwid has seen recently has redefined product strategy and marketing. The small car went on to challenge the largest brand in the country and achieved much success in it. This was not as easy feat and comprised of years of preparation, planning and good execution. For a product build especially for India, the Kwid is currently also being exported to other countries.

Renault Group Chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn has announced, “We obviously will expand the Kwid family, with two new models covering two new segments, designed first for the Indian market and then expanded from there. Stefan Mueller, Renault’s Chief Performance Officer, will further develop our strategy regarding global access and emerging markets.

”  Stefan Mueller revealed that there are actually three new Kwid models planned. “Our global strategy is based on a line-up expansion with Kwid family going from 1 to four models, a full renewal of (Dacia) Logan and (Dacia) Sandero, and Duster renewal, and a new C-SUV offer in the future,” he said.

The new models in the Kwid family will be:

1. Kwid based compact sedan (sub-4 metre):  This will compete with other compact sedans such as the Tata Tigor, Maruti Dzire and Hyundai Xcent. However, its competitive pricing will be the highlight.
2. Kwid based compact SUV (sub 4-metre):  This vehicle will compete with the likes of Tata Nexon, Maruti Vitara Brezza and the Ford Ecosport. Renault will again want to play the price card here, while offering good number of features.
3. Kwid Electric Car:  The third model that is being talked about is an electric car. This will most likely be a Kwid based electric hatchback. With the government pushing for EVs and many manufacturers pressing on getting electric cars, Renault would also like to  gain from it. Nothing better than an affordable electric car.

These three new models will form the future family of Renault Kwid. They all will be manufactured in India and also exported from here.

During our interaction with Sumit Sawhney, CEO and Managing Director, Renault India, at the unveil of the Captur SUV, he had expressed that the company plans to have a product in the compact SUV segment, in near future, as it is a high volume based segment. While customers from the compact SUV segment will upgrade to bigger SUVs as a natural progression, the fact remains that the sub 4-metre SUV segment is there to stay and Renault will definitely look at tapping the segment.

What better than utilising the CMF-A platform for this, as it is an economical base and would give the company an advantage in pricing the vehicle aggressively.

Renault plans to launch the Captur SUV this month.

It was unveiled last month and will compete mainly with the Hyundai Creta. Renault plans to make its presence felt in almost of the volume segments in the country and aim at dominating them in the coming times.