What makes the Renault KWID India’s most loved car?

1. What makes the Renault KWID India’s most loved car? There was a time when owning a car was considered as luxury. This was also the time when wealthy Indians had to choose from just two models. While imported models were also available, they were affordable to a handful few. All this changed in 1983 when the Maruti- 800 was launched. Overnight, the car became success and became a symbol of India’s ambitious middle class. It soon became the first car for most families. And soon, there were many such first time car buyers in India. However, from the manufacturer’s perspective, these entry level cars represented wafer thin margins and hence offered no incentive for them to innovate. Soon, the situation came to a point where there was hardly anything except the price that could act as a value proposition. The entry level car category lost the crown as the highest volume generator to the next level – the hatchbacks. While many car makers attempted different things, none could really stop that slide. Then came the Renault KWID in 2015. Designed by keeping the comfort, safety, performance and rising aspirations of young India in mind, surprisingly Renault was able to price the car very well. The rest is history! The Renault KWID features stole the show. So much so that the market leader was forced to go not only revamp the existing offering, but buttress with additional product to contain the onslaught. What are these features that did the trick and made the KWID one of the best hatchbacks in India? Let’s see the top ones: •The fresh look: Compared to the “box on wheels” approach, the Renault KWID featured an SUV look. Renault’s earlier experience of creating the compact SUV category came in handy here. •Exteriors: The car had some first-in-class features like LED DRLS and tail lamps, SUV styled headlamps, multi-spoke wheels and high ground clearance of 184 cm.

2. •Interiors: The car offers best-in-class features like up to 620 litres of storage space, rear armrests, ergonomic seating cabins, charging ports for everyday devices and refreshing dual tone upholstery. •Technology: The first-in-class feature list continues with a 20.32 cm touch screen, rear parking camera with guidelines and LED instrument panels. The car even had an automatic version with a floor console mounted AMT dial. •Safety: The Renault KWID features dual airbags, reverse parking sensors, safety belt reminders, ABS & EBD that ensure that all the passengers remains safe. Besides these features, the car has two engine options – 0.8 litre and 1 litre and an Automatic version. In fact some of the Renault KWID features were unheard of for an entry level car in India. This feature loaded entry level car starts at just Rs. 2.92 Lacs (Ex-showroom Delhi). This amazing package started impacting the market leader badly and soon it was forced to revamp its own offering to such an extent that it even launched another product to match the SUV look of the Renault KWID. The customer response for the Renault KWID was so strong, that Renault was the only car maker to register an 8% growth in the year 2019 when sales for most manufacturers were

3. sliding downhill. This talks a lot about the car which rekindled consumer interest in the entry level car category. Today, along with the BS6 version, the Renault KWID features an AMT version too. Customers can even book their test drives through convenient online booking. Just like the biblical character of David, the Renault KWID features makes it the Goliath slayer as far as the Indian entry level car market is concerned.