Renault Kwid Electric - Auto Expo 2020

The Renault pavilion in the Auto Expo was pretty interesting with futurestic concept cars and more. But the main point of attraction was the new Renault Kwid Electric, which here was introduced as K-ZE. The car showcased was a Chinese spec variant having right hand side steering. The K-ZE will provide a range of 271 km and Renault clams that, if the car is driven at a speed of 60 kmph than it can go up to 350 km.

As the Indian market is getting towards EVs with the exciting launches such as Nexon EV, ZS EV and Kona EV, Renault has also shown the Electric mobility options from it's side.

RENAULT K-ZE 

The electric hatchback looks absolutely similar to Kwid. There are minor tweaks here and there to make it look a bit energetic. The car comes with a new grill which has chrome styling. The car had  Electric badging here and there to prove that it  is Electric. Other than that Renault has put 100% Electric stickers on the show car for promotion. The car hides the charging socket under the grill similar to MG ZS EV. The Renault K-ZE is based on the CMF-A platform. Talking about interior the car is absolutely similar to the Kwid available in India. We did spotted a drive mode selector option in place of the stick shifter.

MOTOR and BATTERY SPECS

The car comes with a 26.8 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. The electric motor produces maximum power of 44 hp and a peak torque of 125 Nm. The power and torque figures tells that the K-ZE will not be an extremely fast and exciting car , but instead will come with a cool and calm character. The car has been certified with a range of 271 km, but Renault claims that the car can travel upto 350 km if drive at 60 kmph. The car will be charged from 0 to 80 in just 50 minutes with a DC fast charger.

FEATURES

The car will come with all the features given in the Kwid which we see on roads. The car comes with the same same touch screen infotainment system. The standard features such as ABS, EBD and airbags. The interior looks the same and there are almost no changes. It gets circular knob to select drive mode such as Drive, Park, Riverse, Neutral . The car will also feature electronic park brake.

CONCLUSION

According to me, the K-ZE will be launched as Renault Kwid Electric in Indian market. The car will compete against Tata Altroz EV and eKUV  which were recently introduced in the Auto Expo.  There would be a tough competition as all the cars will lie in the hatchback segment and will be offered under Rs 10 lakhs.