Kia India has become the country's fastest automaker to cross the 2.5 lakh sales milestone. The company revealed the sales figure when it introduced its new corporate brand logo and philosophy in India. The South Korean auto giant commenced its sales operations in India in August 2019, and the brand managed to achieve the landmark sales figure in a span of just 19 months. In this period, Kia introduced three models in India starting with the Seltos compact SUV, followed by the brand flagship - Carnival premium MPV, and the Sonet subcompact SUV.
Also Read: 2021 Kia Seltos And Sonet Launch In May; To Get New Brand Logo And Updated Features
Kookhyun Shim, MD & CEO, Kia India with the 2021 Seltos wearing the new Kia logo
At the virtual launch, Hardeep Singh Brar, Vice President and Head of Sales and Marketing, Kia India, further revealed that every third car sold in the compact SUV segment is a Seltos. Meanwhile, every sixth subcompact SUV sold in the country is a Kia Sonet. The automaker also revealed a Kia car is purchased every two minutes in India.
The Kia Seltos was the brand's first made-in-India, made-for-India global offering. The model received a tremendous response upon launch, which has been replicated with the Sonet as well. The manufacturer says that over 60 per cent of sales are for the top variants of the Seltos, Carnival and the Sonet. The automaker has sold over 1.4 lakh connected vehicles in the country so far, showcasing the popularity of the feature on its vehicles.
The Kia Sonet is the brand's second best-selling model averaging about 9000 units per month
India is the first market outside of South Korea to get Kia's new corporate brand logo and philosophy, which shows the importance of India in the brand's global future strategy. Kia is also planning to expand its sales and service network further to over 360 touchpoints across 218 cities by the end of this year. The company plans to include Tier III and Tier IV markets during this expansion phase.
Also Read: Kia India Targeting 29 Per Cent Sales Growth In FY2022 Despite COVID-19 Crisis
With a strong portfolio, Kia is now looking to sell an additional two lakh cars during the current financial year (FY2022). The ambitious plan will see the automaker clock a 29 per cent growth year-on-year. In FY2021, the company sold 1.55 lakh vehicles, averaging 18,000-20,000 cars every month. This despite the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly stopping sales last year. With the sales network expansion, the company aims to reach out to newer customers to achieve the growth plans.
The Kia Carnival is the brand's flagship offering
In addition, Kia is working on a new seven-seater offering for India that will go on sale by early 2022. This will be the automaker's fourth model and is likely to be locally built at the Anantapur plant in Andhra Pradesh. We expect more details on the new model to be available later in the year.
