Kia keeps eye on prize: Indian utility vehicle market
Delhi : A senior corporate executive of a South Korean carmaker Kia is concentrating on the utility vehicle market in India because it is still optimistic about the sector's long-term development prospects in that nation. The carmaker, which also offers items like Seltos, Sonet, and Carens, intends to continue selling diesel trims on its vehicles as long as there is a healthy market for them in the rapidly expanding sports utility vehicle (SUV) class.
The firm, encouraged by its position in the utility vehicle market, anticipates a 10% increase in sales this year.
In 2022, 2,54,556 units were sold.
In an interview with PTI, Hardeep Singh Brar, national head of sales and marketing for Kia India, stated that "our focus is still firmly on multi-purpose vehicles and sports utility vehicles."
He pointed out that the officials has no intentions to enter the market with sedans and that it continues to be optimistic on the SUV and MPV sectors.
Brar pointed out that the SUV segment's share of total passenger car sales increased from 24% in 2018 to 43% in 2022.
He also pointed out that the multi-purpose vehicle segment's contribution increased from 5% in 2018 to 9% in 2022.
On the other hand, sedans' share of the entire PV industry dropped from 19% in 2018 to 10% in 2021, according to him. It increased to 11% last year as a result of several product releases, according to Brar. Similarly, he added, the contribution of hatchbacks decreased from 65% in 2018 to 48% in 2022.
When questioned about diesel vehicles, Brar stated that the Sonet and Seltos' diesel trims presently account for 30-35 percent of the two models' combined sales.
"From an industry standpoint, sales of diesel cars presently account for close to 19% of total sales. However, the diesel contribution is still significant in the SUV market, he said.
Brar stated that the percentage of diesel vehicles in industry sales increased from 17% in 2020 to 19% in 2022. "The figures demonstrate a rising share of diesel automobiles in industry sales. So, we'll keep talking about diesel engines," he said.
Regarding this year's sales projections, Brar stated that "We expect Kia to rise by 10% in CY2023. It would be in the range of 5 to 6 percent for the sector.
