Renault Kwid 1.0 litre to debut at Auto Expo 2016; production begins

In what appears to be good news about the launch of the powerful variant of Renault's successful Kwid, the company has started the production of the model in the country. The Kwid 1.0 litre version is expected to make its debut at the upcoming Auto Expo 2016.

We had reported earlier that French auto maker Renault, which replicated Duster's success with its new small entry level in the domestic market, is not yet ready to rest on its laurels and has gone back to the drawing table to roll out a powerful Kwid with 1.0 litre engine under the hood. Now according to Zauba, which tracks India's import and export details, Renault has exported several units of Kwid powered by 1.0litre engine to overseas market including some to Germany, indicating that the model has hit the assembly line.

The Kwid, which is pitted against the segment front runners Maruti Suzuki Alto and Hyundai Eon, is also rumoured to hit the market in AMT avatar along with the 1.0 litre version. Both the models are expected be part of the French maker's pavilion at the Auto Expo in Greater Noida.

While the current model draws power from a 799cc three-cylinder petrol motor which can churn out 53.2bhp at 5,678 rpm and a peak torque of 72Nm, the upcoming models is expected to get a 1.0-litre motor that could generate a power of something close to 75bhp. The new avatars of Kwid — the 1.0-litre and AMT — are expected to challenge the dominance of Maruti Alto K10 and K10 AMT, respectively.

Withe the new powerful Kwid, Renault is also expected to offer dual airbags and ABS across all Kwid models, starting from the base variant. Renault Kwid, which is currently on sale in India, is offering an optional single airbag only in the top-end RxT variant.