Renault and Datsun recall made-in-India Kwid and Redigo to fix fuel hose clip

Renault India has issued a recall of its best-seller, the Kwid hatchback, to resolve and add a fuel hose clip. Datsun India also followed suit for a recall of 932 units of its Redigo.

In an official statement, Renault India said: “Renault India is conducting a pre-emptive and voluntary inspection of select 0.8-litre variants of Renault Kwid that were produced up to May 18, 2016. As a proactive measure, a fuel hose clip will be added to these select cars along with the evaluation of overall functionality of the fuel system to mitigate any potential disruption of fuel supply.”

Although the carmaker is yet to announce an official figure of the units recalled, it has produced around 60,000 units of the Kwid (both for the domestic market and export) since its launch up to May 2016.

Launched in September last year, the Kwid has helped Renault India significantly expand its market share. From a just 1.56% share of the Indian passenger vehicle market in July 2015, a year later, the carmaker has expanded its share to 4.66% in September 2016. Given the surging demand for the Kwid, expect the company to cross its targeted 5% market share later this fiscal.

The success also led the carmaker introduce a 1-litre variant of the Kwid on August 22. The automaker has now recorded sales of over 90,000 units until September 2016.

The game-changing Kwid, which boasts a very high 98% level of localisation, also helped its creator Gérard Detourbet win Autocar Professional’s Man of the Year 2015 title, for leading the successful creation of the highly localised hatchback (98%) that represents Renault’s gutsy move in the Indian small car market. 

The Kwid, which has received 165,000 bookings thus far, is slated to touch the 100,000 sales landmark anytime soon.

Datsun India recalls 932 Redigos

Meanwhile Nissan Motor India, in a PTI statement, said "Datsun is conducting a voluntary recall campaign on certain India-manufactured Datsun Redigo vehicles to inspect the fuel hose and fix a clip at no cost to the customer."

Datsun India launched the Redigo on June 7 and since then till end-September has sold over 14,000 units.

Both Renault India and Nissan Motor India will inspect the recalled cars without any cost to the customers. They are currently in the process of contacting customers to get them to visit dealerships to get their cars inspected.