Kia Motors India Journey in 2022

Kia Motors came to India with Seltos which was the highest-selling SUV in its segment. With just one product, Kia entered the list of the ‘Top 5 Carmakers’ in the country with a market share of 6.5 percent. As Seltos was gaining more popularity, the automaker continued to upgrade its model with innovative features.

At present, there are 5 models from Kia in the Indian vehicle market which include three SUVs and 2 MUVs. So, what strategy did Kia Motors pick up so that the company stood out in the market and became a great competitor? Read on to know more about Kia Motors journey including its new model launches, sales report, and more.

Kia Motors Journey: New Models Launched

Kia New Launched Car

Ever since Kia India made its debut in 2019, the company has been on a winning streak. From the Seltos, Carnival, and Sonet to now the Kia Carens, the South Korean automaker’s approach to dealing with a highly competitive market seems to have paid off. Other global car-making companies like Toyota, Honda, Volkswagen, and Nissan with more than two decades of experience could not beat Kia Motors.

As of June 2022, the Kia Carens had beaten the Toyota Innova Crysta in the MUV segment. Moreover, Carens had already fetched 50,000 bookings in only two months. Furthermore, Kia has also managed to enter the electric vehicle space within those three years. The EV6 for that matter locked horns with BMW i4 giving the latter a run for its money.

Kia Motors 2022: Sales Report Growth

Sales Report

Kia India reported domestic dispatches of 24,025 units. Its volume gain stood at 9,800 units which was up from 14,214 units YoY. The sales growth of Kia cars was reported at 69 percent. Whereas the MoM sales were up from 23,323 units at a volume gain of 700 units.

MoM sales growth was stable at just 3 percent. In recent weeks, Kia sales surpassed 47,000 units in only 2 months. Growth momentum helped Kia India surpass 6 lakh units in over 3 years.

The November 2022 sales growth of Kia Seltos and Sonet accounted for 88 percent of total company sales to date. Kia Seltos topped the sales chart for Kia as it dispatched 9,284 vehicles in November. In fact, the year-over-year sales were up from 8,859 units at a volume gain of 425 units.

Kia Sonet sales were reported at 7,834 units which was up from 4,719 units. The volume gain is reported at 3,115 units at just 66 percent growth. While Kia Carens dispatched 6,360 units, Carnival sales went down to 419 units from 636 units. On the other hand, electric vehicle EV6 sales are now reported at 128 units.

Month-over-month sales of Seltos also fell from 9,777 units at volume loss which was reported at under 500 units. Sonet sales on the other hand were up from 7,614 units. The Carens’ MoM sales were also up from 5,479 units.

While Carnival sales rose from 301 units, the EV6 sales fell from 152 units. In catering to pent-up demand and market sentiment, Kia India has already sold 2,39,372 cars YTD. With December sales underway, the number will cross 2.5 lakh units for the year.

Kia Motors Journey: Dealership Additions

Kia Motors Dealership

Kia, a short while ago, proposed an expansion plan for its dealership network to be spread across 225 cities by the end of 2022. It also aimed to grow the touchpoint centres to 400 from the current number of 339. With this new plan, the company intends to expand its business to Tier-3 and Tier-4 cities. It also aimed to focus simultaneously on metropolitan cities.

Kia Motors 2022: CSR initiative in 2022

CSR Initiative

Kia Motors has started its first “Green Light Project” Corporation Social Responsibility (CSR) program in India. This two-week volunteer program is being initiated at the company manufacturing facility in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh where it is setting up 300,000 units per annum plant. In partnership with the regional government, Kia is planning to undertake a series of projects in order to support vocational training and education at 3 education institutions in the local community.