Renault Kwid 800cc To Get AMT As Well

Renault is betting heavy on its little wonder, the Kwid. The recently launched 1.0-litre variant is priced extremely competitively, costing a mere Rs 22,000 over the equivalently specced 800cc variant. The only chink in its armour right now is the lack of an automatic transmission. The Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 kickstarted the affordable AMT trend in the country, followed by the Tata Nano. 

The two-pedal variant has been popular with the masses, accounting for a sizeable chunk of the sales. Renault is looking at cashing in on this opportunity, as Sumit Sawhney, MD and CEO, Renault India confirmed that the Kwid 1.0-litre AMT, or “Easy-R” as they call it, is indeed in the works and will be launched within "this financial year". 

While the 1.0-litre AMT is not big news (the model was on display at the 2016 Auto Expo), inside sources say that the 800cc Kwid is set to get the two-pedal tech as well. We expect the AMT to be limited to the top-spec trims i.e. RXT and RXT (O) only. As far as prices go, a premium of roughly Rs 30,000 is likely. Considering the AMT will be available in top trims, it will get the whole laundry list of features, including the 7-inch infotainment system, front two power windows, air conditioning and a digital infotainment cluster. 

Renault recently upped the safety quotient of the Kwid (albeit marginally) by introducing pre-tensioners and load limiters in the front seatbelts. The single driver airbag and the lack of ABS saw the hatchback fare poorly in the crash test conducted by the NCAP. On those lines, we hear Renault is planning on going a step further and offering dual airbags and anti-lock brakes for the Kwid in 2017.