Recent statistics from Korean automaker Kia suggests that its recently introduced Carens MPV witnessed more popularity with its diesel variant. The Carens MPV comes with an aggressive price tag of INR 8.99 lakh (ex-showroom), the Carens has received over 19,000 bookings from interested buyers. Kia India states that over 50% of these bookings consist of diesel-powered Carens, reiterating its popularity over petrol-powered variants. The Carens is Kia’s fourth offering for India as a three-row recreation vehicle based on the Hyundai Alcazar’s platform.
Reasons behind the initial demand
Kia India speculates that the lack of diesel-powered, three-row vehicles in the segment caused the increased demand for diesel Carens’. Based on its pricing, the Carens MPV competes with the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga/XL6, Mahindra Marazzo, and the Hyundai Alcazar. However, the Ertiga and XL6 only feature a petrol engine option, whereas the diesel-powered Marazzo lacks popularity amongst customers.
Kia India has strategically undercut the Carens’ pricing when compared to the more expensive Innova Crysta and its sibling, the Alcazar. The aforementioned factors have perhaps played into Kia’s favour as the diesel-powered Carens is the only choice for interested customers. Kia India also stated that there is a high demand for the top-spec, automatic variants of the MPV amongst customers.
Plans to increase production
Kia India revealed its plans of ramping up production of its vehicles at its plant by introducing a third shift. The automaker will introduce the shift in March 2022 in order to bring down waiting periods and increase vehicle volumes. Kia produced about 2,25,000 vehicles for domestic and export sales in 2021, with plans to exceed that number.
For 2022, Kia aims to cross 3,00,000 units, with the Carens’ waiting period hovering around the 14-week mark. Kia India believes that the third shift will bring down the waiting period of the Carens and its other vehicles. Kia also expressed its confidence with regards to the strong supply of semiconductor chips starting from the 2nd quarter of 2022.
Other News
On 31st January 2022, Kia rolled out the first, production-ready Carens from its Anantapur Plant located in Andhra Pradesh. The Carens is Kia’s latest ‘Made-in-India’ offering that combines the practicality of an MPV with the sportiness of an SUV. Kia India announced the Carens would export the MPV to over 80 countries and officially launched the vehicle on February 15th, 2022.
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