High demand has caused the company to augment production operations and launch two new variants of the Seltos specifically to cater to demand in tier-1 and tier-II cities
Kia Seltos has been a strong contender in the compact SUV segment ever since it was launched in 2019. More recently, the Seltos facelift was launched on 4th July 2023. It is priced between Rs 10,89,900 and Rs 19,99,900 (ex-showroom). Bookings have already crossed the 50,000 milestone in 2 months since the manufacturer started accepting orders on July 14.
Kia Seltos Facelift – Two New Variants
Its success can be also be seen in its sales figures which have increased 23.65 percent YoY to 10,698 units in August 2023. To date, Kia has sold 4,00,000 units of the Seltos in the domestic market since launch in August 2019 while it has exported over 1,47,000 units of the Seltos SUV. In keeping with rising demand, more specifically during the festive season, Kia India will be ramping up production of the Seltos facelift from October 2023
To target sales across Tier I and Tier II cities, two new variants of the Seltos facelift are being added. These new variants, GTX+ (S) and X-Line (S), will be positioned below the top spec trims of HTX+ and the X-Line. They will be priced at Rs 19,39,900 and Rs 19,59,900 for the Petrol with 7 DCT and Diesel powered 6AT variants respectively.
They will receive features such as ADAS Level 2 with a total of 17 autonomous functions along with feature updates among which will be R18 Crystal Cut Gloss Black alloy wheels, electric parking brake with auto hold, all black roof lining at an added cost from Rs 20,000. However, in order to make them more affordable to buyers, they will miss out on certain features. These new variants will be minus features such as Bose sound system and 360 degree camera but will get 6 speaker audio system and a Rear Camera instead.
Among various trims offered on the new Seltos facelift, the company has noted more demand for models with automatic transmission and connected car technology. Bookings for automatic variants constituted 63 percent of the total 50,000 bookings received to date while 77 percent were for variants with connected technology.
Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) accounted for 47 percent of all bookings indicating the growing need for both safety and technology. The Seltos facelift currently commands a waiting period of upto 3 months for the top spec GTX+ and X-Line trims while mid spec trims of HTX and HTX+ variants have a 2 month waiting period.
Kia India’s Upcoming Launches
In order to continue its success story, Kia India has extensive plans for a series of new launches. First up will be the new Sonet, sales of which have been dipping over the past months. Sonet was first introduced in September 2020 and this will be its first major facelift update.
Kia India also plans launch of the new gen MPV in 2024. It may be recalled that the company had discontinued the Carnival in India in June 2023. This new MPV will replace Carnival and offer much more premium features.
