For Korean carmaker Kia, India has turned out to be a strong growth driver for both its Indian as well as for its global export market programme. Since its market entry  in India in August 2019, Kia India has sold a total of 533,482 units. At present, the company, which has five products – the Seltos midsize SUV, Sonet compact SUV, Carnival and Carens MPVs and the EV6 – has a passenger vehicle market share of 7.14% and a utility vehicle market share of 14.39%.

One of the major attractions for any vehicle manufacturer in India is to deploy the make-in-India manufacturing mantra for its export operation. Kia India kicked off its made-in-India export drive in September 2019, with its first overseas consignment of 471 Seltos SUVs despatched from Chennai Port and headed for South America. The company, which rolls out its products from its state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, has inked a 10-year MoU with the Chennai Port for its export operations.

Three years since it began shipping its made-in-India vehicles abroad, Kia India has crossed the 150,000-unit export milestone, with cumulative shipments from September 2019 through to August 2022 being 150,413 units. The Seltos midsize SUV, Kia’s first product in India, accounts for the bulk of exports – 106,002 units or 70.47% of total exports.

The Sonet compact SUV, which is solely produced in India, accounts for 41,305 units or 27.46%, while the recently rolled out Carens MPV has chalked up shipments of 3,106 units or 2% of Kia India’s total exports.

Underscoring the importance of India to Kia, Myung-sik Sohn, Chief Sales Officer, Kia India said, “India is a strategically important market for Kia globally and has the potential of becoming a strong sales, production, and R&D hub. Our state-of-the-art Anantapur plant is one of the most critical export hubs in the Kia network and since the inception of our operations here, we have focused on providing quality products not just within the country but also overseas. UVs are increasingly becoming popular across the world, and we are elated that our made-in-India UVs have received a great response even in international markets. This is a true testament of India’s manufacturing prowess and highlights our capability of producing finest products that meet the unmet needs of customers across the world.”

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