Kia India says it will set up is used car business in larger cities initially
Kia India will enter India’s used car market next year, in order to tap into the ever-growing business, and will target bigger cities initially.
This was revealed recently by Vice President and Head of Marketing and Sales of the South Korean car manufacturer’s Indian arm, Hardeep Singh Brar.
According to Brar, when the Seltos (the first Kia product for India, launched in August 2019) turns about 3 years old, “it will be the right time to start (our used car vertical), especially in the bigger towns.”
Kia India’s vice president also stated that the used car market, which is about 1.4 times the new car market at present, is projected to be almost 2 times the new car market come 2025.
“So there is tremendous potential that we can see in this area,” said Brar, who also acknowledges that Kia’s Seltos enjoys a high resale value in its segment.
Brar says increasing cost of new cars and lengthy waiting periods for new cars that have become the norm due to the global semiconductor shortage, both of which directly impact used car prices, are some factors that help the Seltos maintain its high residual value.
Although the Kia used car vertical will be launched in 2022, the firm also sees certain challenges with respect to the industry that it has to deal with and the biggest issue currently is the supply of pre-owned cars.
Since people are wanting to hold on to their motor for a little longer, which has resulted in there being more demand than supply, used car prices have shot up. Brar claims that the cost of pre-owned cars has risen “anywhere between 5 to 10 percent versus what it was earlier.”
