Renault begins export of Kwid, to launch AMT version soon

Chennai, Aug 6: Renault India said that it will start exporting its small hatchback Kwid to neighbouring countries as well Africa and Brazil in the coming months. To consolidate its strength further at the entry-level segment, the company will also introduce AMT version of Kwid in the coming months, said Sumit Sawhney, country CEO and MD, Renault India.

Speaking to the media in Chennai, Sawhney said: “We have just begun exporting Kwid to Sri Lanka and we will begin exporting to Nepal by the end of this month. This will be followed with countries such as Bangladesh, Bhutan and Africa in the coming months and then to Brazil early next year.”

As per Sawhney, given the three months' waiting period for Kwid in the domestic market, the company has decided to ramp up the production and has accordingly produced 10,000 units a month in July, up from 6,000 in January this year. With the demand expected to go up further with the launch of the 1-litre engine soon as well as to meet export demand, the company will further ramp up production. It introduced a third shift recently, Sawhney pointed out.

The Renault India CEO said it has gained 15% market share with Kwid alone at the entry-level hat back segment,which is 55,000 units a month. To a specific question, he said: “With Kwid, we have surpassed our last year (2015) sales of 50,000 units and crossed the 74,000-unit mark (of all models) till July. We will more than double our sales to 1,00,000 by December end. By achieving this, we would be in a position to achieve 5% market share (now 4.4%) a year ahead of our original target of 2017.”