Kia will introduce a mini electric vehicle, push volumes up by 50%, drive down cost of EVs and work to build its image as an eco-friendly brand in India, putting the country closer to its other large market China by 2030.
Since its debut in August 2019, the Korean automotive brand has quietly surpassed heavyweights Toyota and Honda to build a share of 7% in India’s domestic passenger vehicle market powered by a small range of SUVs; a body style that has remained as the top consumer choice.
The new business plan, which is in effect through 2030, lays out the strategy for each of the major international countries, including India, which accounts for about 9% of the company’s worldwide revenues and was its fourth-largest market by the end of 2022.
The fifth-largest passenger vehicle brand in India, Kia, plans to sell 378,000 vehicles there by 2030, a 51% increase over the 251,000 units it expects to sell in 2022.
As the company’s present manufacturing output is around 300,000 units a year, capacity expansion initiatives will have to be taken by Kia to meet the targets.
“We have been growing rapidly in India since the launch in 2019. We will continue to release regional models to generate stable sales growth,” said Ho Sung Song, CEO, Kia at the Investor Day held on April 5.
Mid-size SUV Seltos and compact SUV Sonet are the two volume drives for Kia India. Sonet became its first region-specific product for India that made the company’s management take note and start work on yet another India-led model but powered by electric batteries.
“In India we will be launching a small EV model, optimal for the market to penetrate the Indian market, which will serve as a cornerstone for pioneering emerging EV markets,” Song added.
The new EV, which is set to debut in 2025, will be a compact model defined presently just as ‘A+’. This will be a model that will be unique to India as other large markets like China and Europe are slated to get B, C and D segment models. In India, Kia launched its flagship electric vehicle EV6 in June last year, priced at around ₹60 lakh.
The compact EV segment is getting attention from manufacturers in India after the debut of Tata Motors Tiago EV, which is the cheapest electric car in the country priced at ₹8.7 lakh. MG Motor will be debuting the Comet, a city-centric EV, in a few weeks.
