Kia India aims to retail 2 lakh units and achieve 29 percent sales growth in fiscal year 2022. Speaking to an online media publication, Hardeep Singh Brar, Vice President and Head of Sales and Marketing, Kia India, said that the company’s monthly sales fall between 18,000 – 20,000 units. And if everything goes well, it will manage to achieve sales of 200,000 units in financial year 2022. The carmaker has no plan to shut down the production line this time around. The existing Kia models have been witnessing huge demand despite regional lockdowns.
The carmaker’s Anantapur based plant in Andhra Pradesh has annual production capacity of 3 lakh units. Kia aims to increase the production capacity from next month and reach to its full capacity by 2022. It will also expand its dealership network to 350 touchpoints by the end of this year. Recently, the carmaker announced that it will launch the updated Seltos and Sonet in the first week of May. The company will also foray into a new segment by early next year.
Speculations are on rife that the South Korean carmaker might enter into the 7-seater SUV or MPV segment. In fact, the prototype of the new Kia MPV has been spotted testing multiple times in the country. Codenamed Kia KY, the model is likely to share its platform, design elements, features and powertrains with the Seltos SUV. Here, it will be positioned against the Maruti Ertiga, Mahindra Marazzo and the upcoming Hyundai compact MPV.
As mentioned above, the carmaker might also bring in a 7-seater SUV to challenge the MG Hector Plus and the upcoming Hyundai Alcazar and Mahindra XUV700. While details are scanty at this point of time, it’s reported to be based on the Seltos sharing platform, components and engines. It could be offered with both 6 and 7-seats configurations.
