Renault launches Kwid 1.0 litre priced up to Rs 3.95 lakh

French auto major Renault on Monday launched a new version of its small car Kwid in India powered by 1.0 litre petrol engine priced up to Rs 3.95 lakh (introductory price ex-showroom Delhi).

The company currently sells the Kwid with an 800cc (0.8L) engine priced between Rs 2.64 lakh and Rs 3.73 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

The new 1.0 litre variant comes in two variants priced at Rs 3.82 lakh and Rs 3.95 lakh, respectively.

Buyers, thus will have to shell out Rs 22,000 more for the new 1,000 cc litre variant.

"With this launch, we look forward to welcoming more customers into the Renault family as we endeavour to aggressively build our presence in India," Renault India Country CEO & Managing Director Sumit Sawhney told reporters here.

Kwid has been a success in the country with the company having already retailed over 1.65 lakh units of the model since its launch last year.

The new variant of the hatchback comes with a brand new 1.0 litre SCe engine which is optimally designed for better performance.

It also comes with various features like sport designer graphics on the doors, pro-sense seat belt pre-tensioners with load limiters among others.

Commenting on the company's future plans, Sawhney said: "Our roadmap for India is very clear, with an immediate goal of achieving a market share of over 5 per cent by the end of this year."

The company will continue with its product offencive strategy in India, as is reinforced by the Kwid 1.0L SCe launch, to substantially grow the Renault brand in India, he added.

"Together with our product portfolio expansion strategy, we are also significantly increasing our sales and network reach in India," Sawhney said.

These efforts are matched by a clear strategy to enhance the customer brand experience, he added.

The company also plans to increase its sales network to 270 outlets by the end of this year.

In order to offer servicing at the customer's doorstep, Renault also plans to have 25 mobile workshops across the country by the end of the year.

The company currently offers the service in Kerala.

Sawhney said the company has already started selling the Kwid in Sri Lanka and plans to launch it in Nepal later this month.

"Early next year manufacturing of the model would begin at other markets as well," Sawhney said.