A total of 38 units of the Kia Sonet have been exported in the month of Sep 2020
Made in India, for India and global market, Kia Sonet will be exported to about 70 countries. Launched only last month in India, Sonet has already become the No 1 selling car in the segment, with over 9k units sold in just 12 days. This is a new sales record by Kia in the Indian auto industry.
In comparison, exports have been not that strong. Only 38 units of the Sonet were exported last month from the company’s manufacturing plant in Anantpur, Andhra Pradesh. From this month onwards, Sonet exports are expected to increase as the company has increased production.
Domestic demand
Bookings for the Sonet opened back in Aug, about a month before the launch. At the time of launch, booking numbers had crossed the 25k mark. Now, 1 month after launch, Sonet bookings in India has already crossed the 50k mark. This has resulted in increased waiting periods.
Below is the latest waiting period status of Sonet and its respective variant. In case you plan to book Sonet this month, you will have to wait for the waiting period as mentioned in the image below.
For domestic market, waiting period has now gone up to 10 weeks. The most in demand variants are the top of the line automatic petrol and diesel variants. Kia is producing more of those, as that has more demand. Demand for base variant is lesser, and hence it has the highest waiting period of 10 weeks.
Why Sonet?
The Kia Sonet comes in with many new features that set it apart from its competitors. The interiors boast of a host of features among which are a 10.25 inch HD touchscreen system with navigation and live traffic information, a Bose premium 7 speaker sound system with sub woofer, ventilated driver and passenger seats, wireless phone charging, remote engine start and Over-the-Air updates.
Safety is the best in its class. The body structure is made of advanced high strength steel. It gets a total of 6 airbags – front, side and curtain, rear parking sensors, brake assist, tyre pressure monitoring system, ISOFIX child seats and ABS with EBD, ESC, HAC and VSM.
It also gets iMT – Intelligent Manual Transmission. iMT is a 6 speed transmission similar to manual transmission but without clutch pedal. It combines the comfort of an automatic transmission with the driving experience as offered by a manual transmission to enhance performance.
The Sonet also receives remote engine start for automatic and manual transmission options via UVO Connect. The company has also added a smart auto purifier with virus protection to the Kia Sonet specially considering the current pandemic situation in the country. This virus protection system remains active as long as the car is in motion with the perfume feature activated via the touchscreen system.
