Kia Motors India has struck the right cord in the hearts of the SUV car buyer in India. The Seltos SUV has bagged the top spot in the sales charts for the 2nd month in a row. For November 2019, Kia has sold 14,005 units of the Seltos which makes it the most loved SUV in India while it also outsold compact-SUVs which cost significantly lower. The Seltos is the only car on sale in Kia showrooms for now, and the brand has generated good acceptance in the market. Kia is the 8th largest car maker in the world, and is climbing steps faster than anyone in the Indian car market as well currently standing at number 4. Compared to last month, the Kia Seltos managed a 9% increase in sales.
Kia launched the Seltos SUV in India in August 2019. So far, the brand has delivered more than 40,000 cars to customers. Kia has bagged more than 86,840 bookings for the Seltos and the sales performance so far stands as 6236 units in August 2019, 7754 units in September 2019 and 12854 units in October 2019.
Kia Motors has also noticed that the demand for diesel automatic and the dual-clutch transmission models is higher than anticipated, and hence, production has been ramped up.
Kia Motors India has an annual production capacity of 3,00,000 units at their plant in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh. The brand has already started operating a 2nd shift to meet increasing demand. Kia will be expanding their network to more than 300 touchpoints by the end of March 2020, when they are planning to introduce their next product which is expected to be a compact-SUV or the Carnival MPV.
It is very impressive to see how Kia although a new brand in India, identified the perfect product for our market. It is a case study for other failing car manufacturers in India on how to launch the right product, at the right time, with the right features and with the right amount of marketing.