Renault India on Thursday entered one of the most competitive segments of compact cars with the launch of Kwid at an introductory price between ₹2.57 lakh and ₹3.53 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi).

With such a pricing, the latest car from the company will be competing with Maruti Suzuki’s Alto 800, Hyundai Motor’s Eon and even Tata Motor’s Nano. The Alto leads the market in the entry level segment with more than 20,000 sales a month and is priced between ₹2.56 lakh and ₹3.72 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

This is the first global launch of the car, which will be exported to emerging countries in Latin America and Africa as part of Renault's global expansion plans, the company said, adding that Kwid would help grow its market share in India.

“We are confident that Kwid will be a big contributor for the company in achieving the five per cent market share in India by 2017,” said Sumit Sawhney, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Renault India. The company has around two per cent market share right now.

Renault has invested around ₹3,000 crore, to develop the SUV/ cross-shaped small car with 800cc, three-cylinder engine. The company said it will deliver best-in-class fuel efficiency of 25.17 km (under tests conditions) for a litre of petrol, he said.

“With Renault Kwid, we offer our customers the best compact hatchback, which has been designed and developed by Renault’s global teams including India, making it a truly international car,” Sawhney said. Renault had its design centres in France, Latin America, Korea and India.

Kwid will create a new benchmark and new segment in the market, just like Duster has done in the SUV segment, he said. He added that with 98 per cent localisation, Renault could be the only manufacturer in India which has done such a job.

The company will also expand its service network to 205 dealerships by the end of this year from around 175 to 280 outlets by 2016 end, Sawhney added.

According to analysts, the product should do well in the market with such pricing and good features.

“The product features are good and there is lot of space coupled with competitive price, the product should do well, after-market sales services is also key to success that’s where the focus should be once you have a good product,” said Abdul Majeed, Partner at PriceWaterhouse said.

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