India-made Renault Kwid confirmed for South Africa

07/06/2016 - 09:00 | ,   | Sagar Parikh

Will be launched in late-2016 or early-2017.

The India-made Renault Kwid was most recently launched in Sri Lanka. The French automaker's Indian subsidiary is exploring new export markets for the new mini car, and South Africa is one of them bound to make it to that list. According to a report from wheels24, Renault South Africa has confirmed that it plans to launch the India-made Kwid in late-2016 or early-2017.

Renault Kwid custom front three quarters at Auto Expo 2016
Renault's export plan is to initially focus on right-hand drive markets.

The report says that the Renault Kwid sold in South Africa will be powered by the 0.8-litre SCe three-cylinder petrol engine that produces 54 PS at 5,678 rpm and 72 Nm of torque at 4,386 rpm, possibly mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. There's no speak of the bigger, more powerful 1.0-litre SCe three-cylinder petrol engine or the automated manual transmission though.

Renault Kwid custom rear three quarters left at Auto Expo 2016
The South African-spec Renault Kwid will be powered by the 0.8-litre SCe three-cylinder engine.

Also Read: Renault Kwid will “far exceed” Indian safety norms in 2017 – Report

The Renault Kwid is the first car to be based on the A version of the Renault-Nissan Alliance's CMF (Common Module Family) platform and a very important export model for Renault India. Besides neighboring countries, export plans also include Iran, Russia, Africa and South America. Right-hand drive countries will be the first ones receiving the India-made Kwid. Exports to Kenya, Brazil and SAARC countries will commence later this year.

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