Launched on 22nd August 2019, Kia Seltos bookings have crossed the 40,000 units mark by 25th September. This is a record of sorts, for any new car to have touched the 40,000 bookings mark in such a short time post launch. For 50,000 bookings, record is held by Hyundai Venue – which took 60 days.
In an interview with ET Auto, Manohar Bhatt, Sales and Marketing Head at Kia India, Seltos bookings are growing every minute. Their main focus now is to increase production and reduce waiting period for their customers. Average Seltos waiting period is at about 2 months.
Speaking about production, though Kia India plant in Andhra Pradesh has a capacity to produce 3 lakh cars / 25k cars a month; currently it is not operating at full capacity. In Aug 2019, about 6,200 units of Seltos were produced. Mr Bhatt reveals that this month the production will be a lot more. We expect it to be in the region of 10,000 units.
Aggressive pricing from Rs.9.69 lakhs onwards allows the new Kia Seltos to compete efficiently with the Hyundai Creta, Renault Captur, Nissan Kicks, Tata Harrier and MG Hector. For Aug 2019, it is the best selling SUV in the segment.
The Seltos is sold in India with three engines, all of which would be BS VI compliant. The 1.5 liter petrol engine will offer 115 hp power and 144 Nm torque while the 1.5 liter diesel engine will be capable of 115 hp power and 250 Nm torque. Top of the line 1.4 liter turbo petrol delivers 140 PS.
Transmission options on offer are 6 speed MT, 6 speed AT, CVT and 7 Speed DCT. These engines, built with Hyundai Group’s Smartstream technology, will be making its way on all future models from Hyundai and Kia.
There could be a number of reasons for the instant success of the Seltos. Apart from stylish design, top quality interiors, powerful engines, it also gets UVO connected car technology with a total of 37 smart features under sections of navigation, safety and security, vehicle management, remote control and convenience.
Kia Seltos and Hyundai Venue have been nominated for the 2020 World Car of The Year Award. These two cars will contend with the Ford Kuga, Range Rover Evoque, Mazda 3, and VW T-Cross which is all set to make its way to India along with the new gen Mercedes-Benz CLA.
