- Kia Motors India reaches the milestone within 17 months of sales operations in the country
- The brand had registered sales of 1 lakh units in July 2020 and the 2 lakh sales figure has been achieved within just the next 6 months
- Top variants of all the three products – Seltos, Carnival and Sonet, accounted for 60% of the total sales
New Delhi, January 25, 2021: Kia Motors India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kia Corporation, became the fastest carmaker to achieve 200,000 units of wholesale domestic sales in the country. After registering a sales figure of 100,000 sales units in July 2020, the brand has registered sales of the second 100,000 units within a record 6-months’ time. The maker of Seltos, Sonet and Carnival, has successfully dispatched 200,000 Kia vehicles to its dealerships across India within seventeen months of sales operations in the country. The top-end variants i.e. above GTX variants for the Seltos and Sonet and the Limousine variant for the Carnival, have accounted for nearly 60% of total cars sold, reinforcing Kia’s premium and feature rich appeal. Leading the connected car revolution in India, Kia has sold over 106,000 UVO connected Kia vehicles on the road summing up to a humongous 53% of the brand’s total sales. One out of every two Kia cars sold now has connected car features, which is a testament to Kia’s understanding of the evolving connected car needs of today’s audience.
Kia has become a formidable force in the Indian automobile industry and has consistently featured in the top 5 automakers list with only three-class leading products in the portfolio. Seltos leads the sales charts for Kia Motors India with 149,428 units, followed by the Sonet with 45,195 units, which was launched in September, 2020 and the Carnival with a total sales of 5409 units.
Commenting on the massive achievement, Mr Kookhyun Shim, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Kia Motors India said, “In just over a year of sales operations, Kia has emerged as India’s youngest automobile disruptor and one of the best-selling automobile brands in the country. We have reached this landmark figure of two lakh sales units and set a record in the Indian industry due to the immense trust and confidence shown in us by our valued customers and the extended Kia family, which consists of our dealer partners, vendor partners and all other Kia stakeholders. We are extremely grateful for the response that the Kia brand has received and we will continue to set new benchmarks in the Indian automobile industry with path-breaking design innovation, cutting-edge technology and unique customer experiences.”
The rapid adoption of Kia cars reiterates the evolving customer preference towards a technology-led exceptional driving experience, coupled with great connectivity. Kia’s focus has also been on offering products that are designed to fulfill consumer demands across both urban and rural areas. Currently, Kia’s state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Anantapur is running on two-shift operations and given the increasing demand for Kia cars, the brand is evaluating operating in three shifts to meet them. Kia also aims to fully utilize the capacity of 300,000 units per annum at its manufacturing unit by 2022. With 300 touch points throughout the country, Kia now plans to expand its network further in Tier III & IV markets.
About Kia Motors India (KMI)
In April 2017, Kia Motors signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the State Government of Andhra Pradesh, India, to build a new manufacturing facility in Anantapur District, completed, and commenced the mass production in August 2019. The manufacturing facility has an annual production capacity of approximately 300,000 units. Kia Motors India has launched three vehicles for Indian market – The Seltos, The Carnival and The Sonet and has made a mark in India with product and service quality and reliability. The Seltos, establishing itself as a trusted product by brand Kia, has crossed 100,000 sales milestone in just one year of its sales period. Kia Motors is globally known to make quality vehicles, which address the gaps in the automotive market, and Seltos too have won many accolades in India. Tasting initial success, third product of Kia Motors India the Sonet has secured 6523 bookings on the first day of commencement of pre-bookings. In April 2020, Kia’s two global products Telluride and Soul EV have bagged world’s most prestigious automotive awards – The World Car of the Year and The Urban Car of the Year respectively at the WCOTY 2020. Kia Motors India has the widespread network of 265 customer touchpoints, in 160 cities across Tier 1, 2 and 3 cities in India.
