Since car companies are selling fewer entry-level hatchbacks these days, the Renault Kwid will not get a new look anytime soon.
Renault has recently updated two of its cars in India: the Triber and the Kiger. However, the Kwid hatchback has no new version planned for the near future.
The Kwid last got a facelift in 2019, but its sales have now dropped to less than 1,000 units a month. Because of this, Renault is focusing on more important models.
Venkatram Mamillapalle, the managing director of Renault India, said that the new Triber is the first car under their “Renault.Rethink” plan. This will be followed by three more launches in the next two years.
The second new car will be the updated Kiger. The third and fourth cars will be a new 5-seater SUV (like the Hyundai Creta) and a new 7-seater SUV (like the Hyundai Alcazar), both based on the Duster. This means a new Kwid is not planned for at least the next two years.
However, Mamillapalle did confirm that the Kwid will not be stopped completely. It will continue to be sold as it is. He explained, “We are going to cover all segments, starting with the A-segment, which is the Kwid. Then, there’s the B-segment where we have the Triber and Kiger, and then we expand to the C-SUV segment as well.”
Why the Renault Kwid is Not Getting an Update
It makes sense that Renault is not updating the Kwid. The market for small, affordable cars is shrinking in India. It’s especially tough for Renault to compete with Maruti Suzuki, who sells the most cars in this segment.
More and more people are now choosing to buy SUVs or second-hand cars, which has hurt the sales of new, budget-friendly hatchbacks.
Even though an updated Kwid has been seen in other countries, Renault India will probably not spend money on a new version. This is because the company is busy with other, more important cars. The Kwid’s monthly sales have dropped to just a few hundred units. With rising costs and low sales, it’s difficult for Renault to justify investing in a new Kwid. At most, we can expect a few small changes, like new colours or safety features such as six airbags.
Renault Kwid: Price and Details
The Kwid was first launched in 2015 and was a very popular car for Renault in India. It last received a major update in 2019, which means the current model has been on sale for almost six years now.
The Kwid is currently priced from Rs 4.70 lakh to Rs 6.50 lakh. It comes with a single 1.0-litre petrol engine that produces 68hp. You can get it with either a manual or an AMT gearbox.
