Kia Motors India sells 2 lakh cars in 17 months; becomes the fastest car manufacturer to reach the milestone
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.