Kia India Launches Official Website, Looking For Dealers

Kia Motors rise to prominence in recent years has come by selling quality vehicles in just about every corner of the world.

One market that has been closed to them is India, although sister company Hyundai has been doing brisk business there for a while now.

Kia Motors are set to join Hyundai in India, and the process is moving forward quickly.

Kia Motors India website

The official announcement of Kia entering the Indian marketplace came in April, and now the company has uploaded a website dedicated to that market.

They also have a branding plan in place that will get the word out before the production of Kia models for India begins.

Kia India dealership network plans

Applications for dealerships and job openings have already begun in India.

The carmaker will hit the road over the next two months to engage with interested dealers, allowing the dealerships to get some face to face time with Kia’s top brass.

There is very little information about which Kia vehicles will be sold in the Indian market, so we will keep you posted on that as we get more information.

There is a better than average chance that the prospective dealers will be given some insight to the model line-up during the Kia road show.

What is known is that the first Kia models should be made available towards the end of 2019, with all the new models made domestically.

Kia manufacturing plant in India

Before the sales can commence, Kia needs to build a production plant in India.

Conformation of this move has already been made, with the new plant set to be built in Anantapur District in the state of Andhra Pradesh sometime in Q4 this year.

Kia will invest a total of US$1.1 billion to build the facility and begin production in the second half of 2019.

Word is that the production capacity will be somewhere around 300,000 units annually.

Which Kia cars will be on sale in India?

As we already said, there is no official word on which models will be hitting the market in India, but we assume that a small car and an SUV would be made available.

Rio or Picanto – likely candidates

As far as small cars go, the Kia Rio and Kia Picanto seem to be the ones that would be the best fit for the Indian market. Both cars are available globally, and both have recently undergone a redesign.

By the time 2019 rolls around, they will both be due for a refresh, which should help them compete in the local market.

Another potential addition to the Kia India line-up is the Seltos small CUV. This model is made specifically for the Asian market, and it shares a powertrain with the Hyundai Creta, both of which are already on sale in China.