There are only few auto badges which Indian's are waiting with a bated breath, and Kia, the Korean small car specialist has finally shed its inhibitions to unveil its grand entry into Asia's second largest automotive market.
Kia is bringing its famed SUV badge of Kia KX3 as its formal launch vehicle to India. The much delayed entry will also see several hatchbacks and sedans in due course as it modified these versions for India to meet lower cost parameters and high durability needs.
According to sources the Korean brand does not want to directly confront its parent Hyundai Motor, which owns a fully subsidiary in India - Hyundai Motor India- and will go for newly crafted models like Sportage and Soul. These vehicles along with recently introduced hatchbacks like Rio and Picanto that are ideal on their heavy economy quotient may take the sweet spot of the Indian market in the Rs 4-7 lakh bracket.
The company has started product clinics along with road shows to gauge the market sentiment and pulse of customers and is engaging younger customers to determine the right product strategy for this market. It is also toying with the engine options in the 1.4 to 1.6 litre gasoline (petrol) engine and a 1.5 litre diesel motor to fire its hatchbacks, SUV’s and compact sedans.
Kia is the single largest investment in the automotive world as the South Korean carmaker is hedging big on India with an aggressive product plan to introduce at least four vehicles when its new plant in Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh kicks off operations in the second half of 2019 with a $1.1 billion investment.
The proposed greenfield car plant at a 600-acre site at Penukonda, about 75 km from Anantapuramu, will witness some additional investments by its suppliers and vendors, taking the cumulative investment to about $2 billion in the Kia Project.
The facility will be able to produce up to 300,000 cars each year, with a wide range of compact and SUV’s to be made exclusively for the Indian market keeping in mind the strong value proposition of local customers.
