The price hike associated with Kia RDE compliant models, is on top of the recent price hike in effect from January 2023
The most popular vehicles for Kia India include Seltos, Sonet and Carens. All of these will soon be made compliant with RDE (Real Driving Emissions) norms. And once that happens, there will be a price hike involved.
Kia car price hike due to RDE norms compliance will range between Rs. 25,000 and Rs. 50,000 depending on the model and powertrain offered. It is a relief for diesel-heads like me to learn, Kia will continue to offer diesel powertrains with Sonet, Seltos and Carens. Let’s take a look at the finer details.
Kia RDE Compliant Models
What we will get from 1st of March 2023, is Kia RDE compliant models. The price hike associated with this update is on top of the price hike implemented in Jan 2023. Making this the second price hike for Kia models in 2023.
Updated Seltos will be dearer by Rs. 40,000 with petrol powertrains and Rs. 50,000 with diesel powertrain. For Sonet, the updated model will cost Rs. 30,000 more for petrol powertrains and Rs. 45,000 more for diesel powertrain. For Carens, price hike for RDE compliant models is Rs. 30,000 for petrol and Rs. 50,000 for diesel.
This price hike is on top of the January 2023 price hike. In effect, Seltos is now up to Rs. 1,00,000 dearer, Carens is up to Rs. 95,000 and Sonet is now up to Rs. 85,000 dearer since 2023 began. It has just been a month and 11 days since the year 2023 commenced.
Deliveries
Deadline for phase II of BS6 transition is set for March 31st, 2023. Ahead of this, Kia’s RDE compliant models will commence deliveries from 1st of March, 2023. In a notification to dealers, the South Korean brand mentions all vehicles in stock and dispatched by February 28th, are to be registered by 31st March 2023.
Kia’s notification doesn’t mention Carnival. Now that 4th gen Carnival is showcased at 2023 Auto Expo, we might see a launch later this year. Speaking about engine options, they will continue to remain more or less the same ones. Except for a few changes. Updated Sonet will get a more powerful 116 PS 1.5 liter diesel engine while the 1.4 liter petrol turbo will be replaced (Seltos and Carens) by a more powerful 1.5 liter petrol turbo delivering 160 PS and 260 Nm.
Facelifted Seltos is not being launched anytime soon. It was spotted testing in Hyderabad recently. The latest test mules confirm Kia is indeed launching Seltos facelift with ADAS package. Seltos facelift will see the light of day in mid-2023.
