Renault India's small car Kwid took the segment by storm and witnessed as many as 50,000 bookings at the start of November. Kwid also boosted the sales of the small car segment, which saw 0.29% growth in the April-October period.
The segment leader and the bestselling car in India, Alto, holds 46% market share, while Tata's updated Nano now grabbed 5% market share. The segment also seems in the right gear to revive after having shrunk to 26% of the overall market from its highest 35% in financial year 2012, reports the ETAuto.com.
"The Kwid, which starts at Rs 2.57 lakh in New Delhi, has brought excitement to the segment," said Sumit Sawhney, managing director of Renault India. Renault is planning to produce and sell more than 7,000-8,000 Kwids in the coming months owing the overwhelming response.
The segment is expected to grow with the newcomers such as Tata Zica, slated to be launched in December and Maruti Suzuki's new Alto is also due soon.
Meanwhile, unofficial reports claim the Kwid has already breached 70,000 bookings. Going by the trend, the small car of the Renault is expected to increase the market share significantly from the current 10%, which will be a threat to the likes of Maruti Suzuki Alto and Hyundai Eon.
Kwid hatchback is powered by a 799cc 3-cylinder petrol motor, which is tuned to churn out 53bhp at 5,678rpm and a peak torque of 72Nm at 4,386rpm mated a 5-speed manual gearbox. The car also returns ARAI claimed fuel efficiency of 25.17kmpl, which makes it the most fuel-efficient petrol car in the country.
