Ranbir Kapoor is the new brand ambassador for Renault India

Renault has roped in Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor to promote its cars in India. The carmaker had unveiled its small entry-level car, the Renault Kwid, earlier last month and according to reports Ranbir will be promoting this new product from the carmaker's stable. Renault’s move of bringing in Ranbir Kapoor onboard emphasises the fact that the company is leaving no stone unturned to appeal to the masses.

Renault is celebrating its fourth anniversary in India this July. The company has officially stated that the Rockstar of Indian cinema - Ranbir Kapoor is now its brand ambassador. The carmaker has further stated that its association with the star will leverage the versatility and legacy of the brand.

Ranbir Kapoor was earlier the brand ambassador for Nissan Micra. However, the dull sales of Micra only made sense that the popularity of the actor could be basked in to promote the vehicles from Renault’s stable. Renault is in a strategic alliance with Nissan and hence Ranbir’s transition on the former’s platform could have been smoothly possible.

The new Renault Kwid shares its platform with Datsun Redigo which is being developed with alliance partner Nissan. It is the first car from the alliance on the CMF-A platform and will have close to 98 per cent localisation level. It will be powered by an 800cc petrol engine that Renault says will return best in class fuel economy. The engine is an all new 3-cylinder 4-valve unit mated to a newly developed 5-speed manual gearbox specifically for the Kwid and its derivatives. The fuel efficiency claims could well be true as the car weighs just 678kg, lighter than the Alto and Eon.

Reports also suggest that a few months into the launch, the Kwid will also be introduced with a larger 1.0-litre engine. To keeps things fresh over time, an AMT transmission Kwid might also be on cards but will only be launched in the first half of 2016.

Renault will bring in the Kwid at an introductory price of around Rs 3-4 lakh. When it gets launched, it will take on the likes of the Maruti Suzuki Alto and the Hyundai Eon.