Kia Syros, Skoda Kylaq separated by 657 units 6 months after launch

The Kia Syros and the Skoda Kylaq, the two newest models in the ultra-competitive compact SUV segment, continue to make news since their market entry in January 2025. Six months down the line, these two models’ combined wholesales at 48,085 units accounts for a 7% share of the estimated 694,855 compact SUVs which OEMs have dispatched to their dealers across India.

While the Syros currently has a 50.68% share of the combined 48,085 units sold between January-June 2025, the Kylaq is close behind with 49.31 percent. 

KIA SYROS: 24,371 units, 17% share of Kia India sales in January-June 2025
The five-seater Syros, with cumulative six-month sales of 24,371 units, has a 17% share of Kia India’s 142,139 utility vehicles sold between January-June 2025. This constitutes a drop of 4 percentage basis points versus the Syros’ first three months’ 15,986 units, which gave it a 21% share of the company’s 75,576 UVs sold in January-March 2025. As the monthly sales split (detailed above) depicts, following three straight months of over 5,000-units sales, dispatches dropped to 4,000 units in April, 3,611 units in May and then 774 units in June.

For first-half CY2025, the Syros (24,371 units and a 17% model-wise share) is ranked fourth in Kia India’s seven-model portfolio after the Sonet (45,277 units, 32% share), Seltos (36,883 units, 26% share, Carens (34,056 units, 24% share) and ahead of the Carnival (1,014 units. 1% share), EV6 (520 units) and EV9 (18 units).

The Syros’ ex-showroom price range is from Rs 900,000 to Rs 17.80 lakh. On-road Delhi pricing for the 13-variant Syros starts at Rs 10.18 lakh for the base 1.0 HTX variant and goes up to Rs 21.18 lakh for the top-end 1.5 CRDi HTX+ (O) AT variant.

The Syros is sold in four standard trim levels and two option trims – HTK, HTK (O), HTK+, HTX, and HTX+, HTX+(O) – paired with manual and automatic transmissions. Kia’s newest SUV for India has two engine options: a 1.0-litre turbo petrol which develops maximum power of 120 hp and 172 Nm of torque, and a 1.5-litre CRDi diesel with 116hp and 250 Nm of torque.

The Kia Syros has a claimed mileage of 18.2kpl for the petrol MT and 17.68kpl for petrol AT; for diesel variants, the mileage goes up to 20.75kpl for the MT and 17.65kpl for the AT.

SKODA KYLAQ: 23,714 units, 65% share of Skoda India sales in January-June 2025
The Kylaq, Skoda India’s vehicle of entry into the booming compact SUV market, has received a massively strong customer response. So much so that from February 2025 onwards, it has become the company’s best-selling locally produced vehicle, ahead of the Kushaq SUV and Slavia sedan.

As the monthly wholesales data table above depicts, the Kylaq’s sales have jumped 32% quarter on quarter – from January-March’s 10,205 units to April-June’s 13,509 units. This has seen this compact SUV’s share of Skoda India’s overall PV sales increase from 59% in the first quarter of the calendar year to 71% in the April-June 2025 period. In fact, the Kylaq is the company’s best-selling product over the past five months in H1 CY2025, and with a 65% share of Skoda India’s wholesales is hugely ahead of the Slavia (6,478 units, 18% share), Kushaq (5,522 units, 15% share), Kodiaq (478 units, 1% share) and Superb (3 units).

The most dynamically sorted compact SUV, as Autocar India calls it, the Kylaq’s highlights are space, performance and handling. The latest Skoda in town is a high-on-quality product that straddles multiple segments – the Kylaq competes against premium hatchbacks, compact SUVs, and compact sedans, targeting customers looking at a do-it-all family car with top-notch driving dynamics and safety features. 

Sold with only a 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine, which develops 115hp and 178 Nm of torque and mated with manual and automatic transmissions, the Kylaq has a top speed of 188kph. On the fuel efficiency front, it delivers 19.05kpl in the city and 19.68kpl on the highway.

Aggressive pricing has been a key factor for the success of the Kylaq which has an ex-showroom price of Rs 825,000 through to Rs 13.99 lakh for the top-end variant. The on-road Delhi pricing for the seven-variant Kylaq starts at Rs 892,000 (on-road Delhi) for the base Classic variant up to Rs 16.72 lakh for the top-end Prestige AT variant.

The Skoda Kylaq, which rolls out of the company’s Chakan plant in Pune, shares its MQB-AO-IN platform with not only sibling Kushaq but also the Volkswagen Taigun and Virtus. This compact SUV has good space for four passengers and comes with features like a 10-inch infotainment screen, a sunroof, and electrically adjustable front seats. The Kylaq has a long list of safety features including six airbags, which are standard on all variants.

The Skoda Kylaq has the distinction of being the best-performing compact SUV in Bharat NCAP test thus far. The five-star rated model scored 30.88 out of 32 in Adult Occupant Protection and 45 out of 49 points in Child Occupant Protection.

Bullish on accelerated demand for the Kylaq coming its way and having ramped up production capacity, Skoda India expects Kylaq sales to hit the 8,000-unit monthly mark by the end of CY2025. 

Of the total 670,256 UVs sold in the first three months of FY2026, the compact SUV segment accounted for 319,734 units or a 48% share, leaving the remaining 52% to the midsize SUV and MPV categories.