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Kia India has crossed the 3,00,000 sales milestone in the Indian market. With this; it becomes the fastest OEM in India to cross the 3 Lakh sales mark!
As of July 2021, the automaker had sold over 2.98 Lakh units with 66.8 percent contribution from Seltos, 2.4 percent from Carnival, and 30.8 percent from Sonet. The remaining units for the 3 Lakh mark came in the first five days of August 2021. Do note that Kia crossed the 1 Lakh sales mark within 12 months of sales operations in India (source), and 2 Lakh sales mark in just 18 months (source). The interesting phenomenon here is that Kia has focused completely on Utility Vehicles to build its brand in India. The lineup of Kia India includes 2 SUVs (Seltos & Sonet) and 1 MUV (Carnival). Even the next model Kia is planning to launch (codenamed KY) will be a MUV.
Kia India’s flagship product, the Seltos, remains the highest contributor with over 66 percent share in sales.
While Sonet added 31 percent of the overall volumes.
The OEM also sold 7,291 units of its premium MPV, Carnival.
Commenting on this achievement, Kookhyun Shim, MD, and CEO, Kia India said, “3,00,000 sales for Kia India is a strong affirmation of customer acceptance and their confidence in the brand and its offerings. Despite testing times, the Indian market has shown a strong rebound in demand. Our extensive sales, aftersales service network, and pre-emptive measures like an end-to-end digitized sales process has helped us minimize business risks and perform against all odds."
Kia Seltos was the 3,00,000th car to roll out from its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Anantapur, which employs over 13,000 employees. The Anantapur plant is Kia’s most advanced production facility, equipped with over 450 robots, Artificial Intelligence, and environment-conscious techniques such as 100 percent water recycling.
Kia India recently topped FADA India’s Dealer Satisfaction Study 2021 as well, scoring 879 points, exceeding the nearest carmaker by 101 points, and was ahead of the Industry average by 159 points.
One of the primary reasons for Kia's success in India is its strong dealership network in the country. It now aims to expand its footprint from the current 300 to 360 touchpoints, covering 90 percent of the Indian market, including Tier III, IV cities, and upcountry markets. Kia also initiated its digitization drive and has been offering end-to-end digital sales since the start of its sales operations in the country. The brand has successfully created a Phygital framework (Physical + Digital) wherein digital channels complement the efforts of its dealer partners.