Renault Kwid Continues Vigorous Growth In India

The entry-level hatchback segment in India is among the most competitive in the industry. While Maruti Suzuki Alto has been the national best-seller alludes to the segment's potentiality. This, in fact, has resulted in most manufacturers taking a crack at it; there's the Datsun redi-GO, Renault Kwid, and Tata Tiago.

The Kwid, oldest among the aforementioned trio, was launched in India last year in September. The hatchback has continually delivered cogent sales and is among the top-selling cars in the country despite the growing, and tough, competition in the market. While Renault garnered 50,000 orders and sold 5,195 units of the hatchback by October 2015, it registered its best ever monthly sales in August 2016, when 10,719 units of the Kwid were sold. Consequently, the hatchback's momentum has also aided the growth of the French carmaker's market share in India.

Renault has received over 1.6 lakh orders for the Kwid in an year, which means it now commands a sizeable waiting period - of nearly 4 - 6 months. With that said, the carmaker is further pushing the Kwid's stance in the market. While a more powerful variant of the hatchback, Kwid 1.0, was launched in August this year, the company is also expected to bring in an Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) variant soon.

The Renault Kwid is offered with a choice of two engine options: an 800cc petrol unit and a 1000cc three-cylinder petrol engine. While the former develops 54bhp and 72Nm of peak torque, the bigger motor puts out 67bhp and a maximum torque of 91Nm. Both engines come mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox.

Disclosure: NDTV's CarAndBike.com is a partner with Renault India Private Limited