Kia Motors likely to set up assembly base at Sri City in Andhra Pradesh

Kia Motors Corporation, a sister company of Hyundai, is likely to set up an assembly/production base for producing cars in Sri City in Andhra Pradesh. The planned capacity is believed to be around 200,000 units annually. Kia Motors could likely bring the Picanto hatchback and/or the Sportage crossover to India.

Replying to a query from Autocar Professional, Michael Choo, general manager, Overseas PR Team, Kia Motors Corporation, said: “We at Kia Motors are continually evaluating potential locations for overseas manufacturing facilities, including India, to secure additional engines for future growth. However, as of now, no concrete plans have been finalised.”

The new Picanto, which was shown at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, is a five-door, A-segment hatchback, with all-steel unitary construction bodyshell. It has a choice of three transversely-mounted engines driving the front wheels via a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission – depending on the model. For markets other than Europe, it gets two petrol engines: a 998cc, 68bhp Kappa (3-in-line), DOHC, three-cylinder, with dual CVVT, and a 1248cc, 85.7bhp  Kappa (4-in-line), DOHC, four-cylinder, with dual CVVT. The Picanto’s dimensions 3595mm length, 1595mm width (excluding door mirrors), 1490mm height, 2385mm wheelbase and 152mm ground clearance.

The all-new Kia Sportage – the fourth-generation of Kia’s global compact SUV – debuted at the Frankfurt International Motor Show in September 2015. It features an attractive, all-new interior and exterior design, as well as a host of advanced new technology features. It is slated to go on sale in Kia’s overseas markets during the first quarter of 2016. offering an innovative and sophisticated package to buyers in an increasingly competitive compact SUV market. As per the information detailed on the company’s website, “The new-look interior features high quality materials and design integrity, as well as great practicality and a range of technologies to improve comfort, convenience, connectivity and safety. A range of new and updated engines and transmissions will result in enhanced efficiency and performance, while ride, handling and refinement are all improved.”

The most significant change to the Sportage’s dimensions is a 30mm growth in its wheelbase, to 2670mm, helping liberate greater space in the cabin. The whole vehicle is now 40mm longer, at 4480mm, with the front overhang expanding to 910mm (+20 mm) and the rear overhang shrinking slightly to 900mm (-10 mm). The latest model remains the same height (1635mm) and width (1855mm) as the outgoing Sportage.

Passenger space is increased, with headroom rising to 997mm (+5mm) and 993mm (+16mm) for front and rear passengers respectively, while maximum legroom has expanded to 1129mm (+ 19mm) and 970mm (+7mm). The third-generation Sportage sold over 1.6 million units worldwide between 2010 and 2015.

Global sales up 3.6% in January

On February 5, Kia Motors Corporation announced its January 2016 global sales figures (export sales, domestic sales and sales from overseas plants) for passenger cars, recreational vehicles (RVs) and commercial vehicles, recording a total of 204,662 units sold. This figure represents a 3.6% year-on-year decrease compared to the same month of 2015.

In January, Kia posted year-on-year sales increases in the domestic Korea market (4.6% growth with 38,505 units sold) and Europe (2.3% growth with 38,446 units sold), while China, general markets and North America experienced year-on-year decreases in January of 13.2% (50,361 units sold), 6.6% (35,444 units sold) and 0.2% (41,906 units sold), respectively.

Kia's bestselling model in overseas markets during January 2016 was the Sportage compact CUV with 36,989 units sold. The B-segment Rio (known as 'K2' in China) was the second best-seller with 30,222 units sold, while the C-segment Cerato (known as 'Forte' or 'K3' in some markets), Optima D-segment sedan and Soul urban crossover followed with 23,947, 16,696 and 12,186 units sold, respectively.

For calendar year 2015, Kia Motors’ global sales (export sales, domestic sales and sales from overseas plants) for passenger cars, recreational vehicles (RVs) and commercial vehicles, comprised a total of 2,916,118 units, a 0.3% cumulative year-on-year increase compared to 2014. There was a year-on-year sale increase in Korea and North America of 13.4% (527,500 units sold) and 6.7% (693,732 units sold), respectively.