Is this the Renault XBA small-car launching this year? - Spied

Expected to be powered by an 800 cc petrol engine. 

A Motoroids reader snapped these pictures of a camouflaged prototype, believed to be the Renault XBA (codename), in Himachal Pradesh. The vehicle's 'TN' number plate suggests that it is either from Hyundai, Renault-Nissan, Ford or Mahindra.

Hyundai is not working on an all-new small car at moment, Ford's new Ka will be made at the Gujarat plant, and is already on test with sparse camouflage, while Mahindra's S101 looks completely different, even when camouflaged. Hence, we're led to believe that this is from Renault-Nissan. Renault has announced that it will indeed launch its small budget car in India this year, and the prototype sports a few budget car-like features.

Take for instance the single wiper blade, the small 13 (or 14-inch) wheels which are fastened by only 3 lug-nuts and the door trim which features the pull-push door lock, expected of a car in this segment and we're bound to believe that it is indeed the XBA.

The small XBA is expected to world premiere in India later this year, and will be based on the CMF-A modular architecture, which will also form the basis of the Datsun Redi-Go based small car.

Sources say that the XBA will be powered by an 800 cc petrol engine paired to manual and automated manual transmissions.

Also read: Renault working on a 7-seat crossover that will be based on Nissan X-Trail

The XBA and the Lodgy (which is expected to launch sometime before April 2015) will be instrumental in driving up Renault India's market share to 5 percent.

Competitors: Maruti Alto, Hyundai Eon, Chevrolet Spark, Datsun redi-Go
Expected Price: INR 3-4 lakhs, ex-Showroom
Launch date: H2, 2015 in India

[Source - Motoroids]