Kia Motors India launches its first TVC, focuses on design inspirations

If you have been following Kia Motors India's social profiles, you must have seen the company's micro teaser campaigns featuring an astronaut and a tiger. And now the world's 8th largest automobile manufacturer has launched its first television commercial for India that highlights the brand's inspirations behind the stunning designs of its whole portfolio. The concept behind the TVC is to create an awareness about the brand in India using the key element of Kia vehicles, its dynamic design.

Kia Motors India stared the teaser campaign by showing a Kia car followed by an astronaut in one clip and a tiger in the second clip. In Kia India's full length TVC, one can see these two along with other inspirations come together to form a Kia car, that happens to be the Stinger GT. It is said that the astronaut symbolizes man's first step on the mood, whereas the footballer shows agility and control. The tiger is the inspiration behind the aggressive grille, the ballerina dancers signify grace and elegance while the humming bird showcases speed with stability and balance. The skyline spring and firefly denotes playfulness and luminescence. And lastly, Felix cat that highlights the youthful nature of Kia cars.

Early this year, Kia Motors announced setting up a new plant in Andhra Pradesh. This plant, in addition to taking care of the domestic demands here, will also cater to the international markets. The company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Andhra Pradesh to build its facility in Anantapur district. The sprawling factory is spread across 536 acres and has facilities for stamping, welding, painting and assembly. The plant will have a capacity of approximately 3,00,000 cars annually. Kia will start marketing its cars in late 2019. Kia Motors will invest about $1.1 billion in India.

Kia Motors India is looking to begin its innings in the country with the crossover SUV based on the KIA SP Concept. This car will make its debut in India by May 2019. The SUV, likely to be named Tusker, has already been spied undergoing tests, with images and a recent video of the test mule. The spy video shows a heavily camouflaged SUV but it is clear that a lot of the concept's design cues will make it to production.

The overall blocky shape of the car remains but creases and surfacing have been toned down to make for a viable production car. The front fascia retains the concept large two-part grille while the headlamps, though not as large, retain the same basic shape and layout. Naturally, the oversized wheels and large contoured bumpers have been toned down too.

The production version of the SP will sit on a platform derived from the Hyundai Creta. New powertrain options will be available. This includes a new BS-VI compliant 1.5-litre diesel motor which is expected to put out 115PS and 250Nm. The 1.6-litre diesel unit from the Creta will be replaced by this. A new petrol, also of 1.5-litre displacement, will also be made available. This motor is also expected to support hybrid powertrain components by 2023