Kia Motors is inching close to debut its first cars in India earlier than expected. According to sources, Kia is planning to pre-pone its first product launch from July or early August 2019 to April 2019.
Apparently, a key factor attributing to this latest development is that the construction of the Korean brand's first car plant in India is progressing ahead of schedule. In fact, the built-up infrastructure of the plant in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, is complete. It indicates that Kia will start the trial production early in 2019, and by then, the company hopes that its suppliers will be able to issue the orders that it has already placed for its first product - the Creta-based SP Concept SUV.
The new model, tentatively titled Trazor, may roll out almost by the end of April, for which bookings will likely open by the end of March and deliveries are expected by late May. This means Kia will have to push its dealer network completion. Some Kia dealers have shared that plans for an April 2019 launch have been shared with them as well. Kia plans to increase its presence in major cities across the country to ensure 85-90% network of the main car buying population as soon as their market opens.
Buzz is also about readying a compact sedan and a premium hatchback, most likely the Rio, as the next two offerings for India. The company is also studying the potential to bring a new MPV. Apart from the huge Carnival MPV, Kia is now assessing a more compact MPV for India. To compete in the subcompact SUV segment, Kia is planning to launch a new model – a division where the sister company Hyundai will also launch a product soon. In direct market competition, these models will have to contend with the high volume and demand of Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza and Tata Nexon.
[Source: Kia Motors India]
