French auto-maker Renault will ramp up the production of its acclaimed hatchback the Kwid at its Oragadam plant in Chennai to meet the increasing demand. A report of Financial Express confirms that the company will start the third shift at the plant from June and is planning to bump up Kwid's production capacity to 10,000 units.
The Kwid, the game-changer of the company, has garnered over 1.25 lakh bookings since its entry into the market in September. The unprecedented success of Renault's small hatchback had also led to the prolonged waiting period of over 10 months. Currently, Renault Kwid's waiting period is said to be around three months. In April alone, Renault has sold 9,500 units of the Kwid. The French auto-maker is also expected to expand the Kwid range in the country in the coming months with 1.0litre and the AMT versions.
Currently, the Kwid is powered by a 799cc three-cylinder petrol motor, which is tuned to churn out 53bhp at 5,678rpm and a peak torque of 72Nm at 4,386rpm, mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. It boasts fuel efficiency of 25.17kmpl and rivals Maruti Suzuki Alto and Hyundai Eon in India.
At present, the company's plant has been shut temporarily for regular maintenance. The company had confirmed that this halt will not have any impact on the delivery of Kwid and the company will meet the monthly target of the model.
[1 lakh = 100,000 | 1 crore = 10 million | 100 crore = 1 billion]
