Kia Hatchback India Launch Not Likely, Firm To Focus On SUVs & MPVs

Kia Seltos Diesel — The Korean brand does not want to enter every segment in our country

Kia will not launch hatchbacks in India in the immediate future and the brand will be sticking to just SUVs and MPVs for the moment.

This was revealed on Thursday by Lorenz Glaab, who is the Vice President and Head of Global Product Management at Hyundai Motor Group.

Speaking about the increasing demand for hatchbacks, due to more people buying cars for the first time in order to avoid public transport over fear of contracting COVID-19, he said the brand will not enter every segment.

“Kia will not play in every segment and body type. Sonet remains our entry-level model in India,” said Lorenz Glaab.

However, Kia hatchback India launch has not been ruled out completely either. “We will monitor the future trends and three to five years down the line, we might look at something on those lines,” the Hyundai official stated.

At present, Kia sells the Seltos midsize SUV and the Carnival MPV in the Indian market, with the Sonet lined up for launch. The carmaker even commenced bookings for the compact SUV only yesterday.

Lorenz Glaab further revealed that the Hyundai Motor Group aims to build Kia India as an export hub for the Sonet and added that Kia’s next product will be launched in the first half of 2021.

Also, the Hyundai man said that Kia will only be targeting a different cluster within the same segment as Hyundai’s similar products and added that the latter is a sizeable player in India.