Kia Motors and MG Motor are two new car manufacturers that entered India last year and established firmly within short duration of their arrivals. The South Korean carmaker begun its India innings with the Kia Seltos, followed by the Carnival luxury MPV and Sonet subcompact SUV. The British automaker, on the other hand, kick started with the Hector premium SUV. Currently, it has four products in its Indian product portfolio – Hector, Hector Plus, ZS EV and Gloster.
Both carmakers have plans to penetrate the compact MPV segment that’s currently ruled by Maruti Suzuki Ertiga. Talking about the upcoming Kia compact MPV, the model is likely to be based on the Seltos’ B-SUV platform that composed of advanced high strength steel. The architecture is compatible to AWD (all-wheel-drive) system and electric powertrains as well.
The carmaker has already confirmed that its upcoming compact MPV will offer “adequate space” for seven occupants and come with an “affordable price” tag. While there is no official word on its launch timeline, reports suggest that Kia’s new compact SUV might hit roads as early as by the end of 2021. The carmaker’s Anantapur based facility in Andhra Pradesh is likely to serve as production hub for the new MPV.
The British carmaker will foray into the compact MPV space with the MG 360M that made its India debut at this year’s Auto Expo. The model is essentially the re-badged version of the Baojun 360 that’s sold in the Chinese market. The overall length, width and height of the 360M stand at 4615mm, 1735mm and 1660mm respectively. Compared to the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga, the upcoming MG MPV has 10mm longer wheelbase.
Here, it could be made available with a 1.5L turbo petrol engine borrowed from the Hector. The motor has been tuned for generating power worth 103PS and 135Nm of torque. The MPV will have a CVT automatic gearbox for performing transmission duties. MG might also offer Jeep’s 2.0L diesel engine with its new compact MPV.
