Renault Kwid 1-Litre Variant to Come With ABS, Dual Airbags?

The Renault Kwid has been making waves in the Indian auto industry with the car garnering over 70,000 bookings in the country. Renault is not willing to rest on its laurels and reportedly plans to also introduce a 1-litre petrol engine variant of the small hatchback which will be equipped with safety features like ABS and dual airbags as standard.

The 800cc petrol version of the Renault Kwid - which was launched in India in September - is quite thin on safety features, with only the top-end variant offering a single airbag as an option.

Also Read: Renault Kwid Review

Despite that fact, Renault has managed to sell around 10,600 units of the hatchback in just 2 months, with customers facing a waiting period of up to 10 months in some cities. These impressive sales figures mean that the Kwid has grabbed a 10 percent market share in the entry-level hatchback segment - a segment which accounts for about 26 per cent of the overall passenger vehicles market in India.

Considering the demand, Renault recently decided to ramp up the car's production by around 50 per cent in the next 3 to 6 months, with reports claiming that it will be increased to 8,000-10,000 units a month by February/March, 2016, and may even go further up over time. The current production capacity of the Kwid is 5,000-6,000 units a month.

Moving on to the hatchback's specs, the car is powered by an 800cc petrol unit mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox and puts out 54bhp and 72Nm of peak torque. Its mileage is rated at 25.17Km/l, which makes the Renault Kwid India's most fuel-efficient petrol car. Other than 98 per cent localisation, the Kwid also offers multiple segment-first features such as 300-litre boot space, 180mm ground clearance, a 4.1-inch touch-screen infotainment system, customisation options, etc. It is available at an extremely aggressive price range of around Rs. 2.64 lakh - Rs. 3.64 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) after the recent price hike.

Also Read: Comparison - Renault Kwid vs Maruti Suzuki Alto

Although there is no official word from Renault, the 1-litre version of the hatchback - which will reportedly have an output of 77bhp - is expected to be launched in India in mid-2016. The French carmaker also plans to introduce automatic transmission variants for both 800cc and 1-litre models in the future.