What’s a KWID? It’s a new Renault City Crossover

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The Renault KWID has been revealed as a very compact city car crossover, aimed initially at the Indian market but probably heading for Europe as a Dacia.

There’s really only one place Renault can make serious sales growth and that’s in the budget market, with sales in emerging markets and Dacias in Europe. And it looks like the new Renault KWID – an A-segment city car crossover revealed today – will cover both those markets.

The KWID first appeared as a concept at the Delhi Auto Expo last year, but has been tamed so much for production it’s practically unrecognisable. Aimed initially at the car market in India, the production KWID uses the new Renault-Nissan CMF-A platform to create a rufty-tufty little urban crossover, with suitable bits of added butch cladding and a raised ride height to cope with less than perfect roads. And, in India, it looks set to cost from around £3,000.

Inside is simple – and looks to be influenced by Renault’s Dacia range – but does include stuff like an optional touchscreen infotainment with Bluetooth and Sat Nav, Air Con, a single digital instrument cluster, touches of chrome, and what Renault are calling a ‘status-enhancing’ feel.

Although destined for emerging markets, the KWID could easily go on sale in Europe as an entry-level Dacia, with a price point of £4,995 to continue Dacia’s unrelenting sales growth.

The Renault KWID will go on sale in India in the second half of 2015, with a price between 3 and 4 lakhs (roughly £3-4k).