According to a senior company official, South Korean car manufacturer Kia Motors is competing for the highest position in the top-selling entry-level, mid-SUV segments in India, with Seltos and Sonet creating solid sales for the company.
The brand, which achieved its maximum retail sales ever in the nation in September, was already number one in the sub-four-meter compact SUV segment in the last month, dominated by its recently introduced Sonet model.
In September, Kia sold 9,266 units of Sonet, thereby getting ahead of Hyundai Venue and Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza. Likewise, last month, it sold 9,079 Seltos units to take second place after Hyundai Creta, that sold 12,325 vehicles.
We are now available with Sonet and Seltos in both low and midsegments of SUVs and we will be major competitors in both of them, said Kia Motors India Vice President & Head Sales and Marketing Mr. Manohar Bhat.”
Both versions are good in design and features and come with a broad range of trims, he said, so that a customer could choose as per his needs.
We’re not talking to the consumer; we’re giving them what they want. So for our cars, particularly the top-end trims, there’s such a pull, Bhat said.
He added that Kia has already earned nearly 35,000 bookings for Sonet, which was officially released on 18 September, and it brings the company confidence that this can perform on the market.
The waiting time for both Seltos and Sonet has gone up significantly due to high demand. Depending on the version, the waiting time on Seltos has grown close to a month while it is now around two months for Sonet.
Bhat said the company will look at its Anantapur factory (Andhra Pradesh) to further boost production and reduce the waiting time for the two models. With three shifts operating, the plant has a generating capacity to roll out 3 lakh units per annum. It can churn out 2 lakh units in a year with two shifts in operation at present.
During COVID times, it is a very challenging time to operate a factory as our facilities are connected to so many other vendor factories and each of them is struggling with the COVID issue. It’s very hard, “said Bhat.
He even said that It’s not only about our ability alone, and it also relies on the distributors. Even, for instance, a nut is late then the whole vehicle is delayed. So, we rely on suppliers ramping up around the same time to be able to begin the third shift and boost production. So, we’re going to do it at some moment in time, but when is that time would also rely on suppliers.”
