[TusharK]

India has emerged as the fourth largest market for Kia, with local sales contributing to 10% of the brand's global sales.



Tae-Jin Park, MD of Kia India, recently revealed that India was among the top 5 markets for Kia, after South Korea, the US and Europe.

"India is the fourth largest market, with local sales contributing to 10% of our global sales," Park said. "The domestic market (South Korea) tops the list with almost 7,00,000-7,50,000 units, followed by the US at about 6,50,000 units and then the European market at 5,50,000 units. India sells about 3,00,000 units at number four," he added.

Kia is targeting a minimum growth of 10% next year. The company's focus will be on bringing premium brands to India. It is also looking to "completely refresh" its current lineup.

Kia plans to reintroduce the manual transmission next year. According to Park, even though the iMT is a good technology, it hasn't been 100% accepted by consumers yet.

Speaking about alternate powertrains, Park said that EVs and hybrid could be their second priority, and then, depending on the market demand, the company might even think of CNG. However, it would take 1-2 years to introduce hybrids.

Park was interacting with the media on the sidelines of the unveiling of the Sonet facelift.

Source: ET Auto

Link to Team-BHP News

[Turbohead]

Originally Posted by TusharK

Kia plans to reintroduce the manual transmission next year. According to Park, even though the iMT is a good technology, it hasn't been 100% accepted by consumers yet.

Speaking about alternate powertrains, Park said that EVs and hybrid could be their second priority, and then, depending on the market demand, the company might even think of CNG. However, it would take 1-2 years to introduce hybrids.

Kudos to them! It's this ability to understand the pulse of the market and agility to make these changes is what makes them tick with the Indian consumer and the dough rolling in. They deserve every bit of this success!

[V.Narayan]

A management leadership that observes, analyzes and then offers a product and service package for the unique characteristics of the Indian market at a price point that works. And their cars are good looking. This is the difference between Kia {and Hyundai} versus some European or American OEMs - Kia wants to sell what the Indian market wishes to and can buy. The others are trying to sell products from their own market without listening to the needs of this unique price sensitive, feature hungry market. The buying mentality and emotions of an Indian are vastly different from an American or a European. For many of us here we are the first generation in our family buying a car. The whole movie of buying and owning a car is so different from a typical First World country where it is merely a big consumer durable which the family has been used to for at least two or three generations.

This also reflects the hunger to succeed the leadership team has.

Good for you Kia. Thank you for matching your products to this demanding, feature conscious, price sensitive and cheerfully confusing aspirational market like no other.

[The Rationalist]

There's no company which has the hunger to succeed like KIA! This is short documentary about KIA and it's turn around in US.
It shows that any manufacturer can succeed provided they have a vision and a plan. It's only because the management is poor that Stellantis brands like Fiat, Jeep and Citroen are gasping.

https://youtu.be/XkqLCNq7_2U?feature=shared

[SmartCat]

India is among Top 5 markets for Kia even after not introducing their famous global models like:

- Picanto
- Sportage
- Sorento
- Optima
- Carnival
- Telluride

And Kia managed to sell 300,000 units per year here in India despite having no presence in popular categories like:

- i20/Baleno segment
- i10/Swift segment
- Verna/City segment
- Amaze/Dzire segment

Their entire India business runs on:

- Sonet
- Seltos
- Carens

[GTO]

The company treated India well and hence, vice versa happened. Kia has launched top-class products, one after another. Their execution & marketing skills are also exemplary.

India is an extremely important market for the Koreans. In related news, we are set to become the 3rd largest market globally for Hyundai (source). This is the first year that Hyundai India will have sold 6 lakh cars.

The Koreans were always good at adding features & tech. They then brought in A+ engines & transmissions. In recent years, their suspension tuning skills have vastly improved. Now, they have to work on the "safety" front. The Verna scored a full 5-stars and we want that extended to others in the model range.

[highwaypatrol]

Honestly, I am so happy for Kia India in achieving this feat. They are the ones who really valued Indian customers by giving quality equipment and features for the money that we pay for their cars. Toyota, Suzuki, VW etc were looting us for many decades by offering inferior products and low tech for their models offered here for us, Kia changed it forever. Now those who looted us is also upping their game to compete with Koreans and Indian brands. Well done Kia!

[speedracer05]

I wish they get their safety act together.
I love their cars, but my family sticks to Honda, Skoda, and VW's primarily due to Kia and Hyundai's negligence of safety standards.
If they make their stable 5* rated, I am sure a large part of Honda, VW/Skoda, Tata, and Mahindra sales will come here.
The duo could easily top Indian sales charts with a 30%+ market share.

[shobhit.shri]

> Tae-Jin Park, MD of Kia India, recently revealed that India was among the top 5 markets for Kia, after South Korea, the US and *Europe*.

I am surprised that Kia and Hyundai count Europe as a single market. Country-wise, we must be in the top 3 for both.

I once drove a Hyundai Verna around 2012 and it was a boat, so I bought Skoda Rapid. I again drove the Verna diesel around 2020, and it was driving better than my Rapid. It's crazy how quickly Koreans have progressed. Kia EV6 after all is the best EV right now!

[gnome]

4th largest and 10% of global sales are by car count, not by revenue or profits. Considering lower end cars being sold in India, those numbers may not hold.

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by gnome

4th largest and 10% of global sales are by car count, not by revenue or profits. Considering lower end cars being sold in India, those numbers may not hold.

Kia Global CY22 Units Sold: 2.9 million
Kia India FY23 units sold: 300,000

Kia India units sold contribution: 10.3%

Kia Global CY22 Revenues: $68 billion
Kia India FY23 Revenues: $4.6 billion

Kia India revenue contribution: 6.7%

Kia Global CY22 Profits: $4.1 billion
Kia India FY23 Profits: $250 million

Kia India profit contribution: 6%

Source:
https://www.autocarpro.in/news-natio...billion-117942
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com...172457781.html

[siren373]

I wish this compels them to bring more of their global portfolio to India and start building some of the high end cars locally to make them price competitive.

[reppy]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

Kia Global CY22 Revenues: $68 billion
Kia India FY23 Revenues: $4.6 billion

Kia India revenue contribution: 6.7%

Kia Global CY22 Profits: $4.1 billion
Kia India FY23 Profits: $250 million

Kia India profit contribution: 6%

$250M/$4.6B = 5.43%

While impressive, Kia India margins are slightly lower than the global margins of 6.07%.

Overall though, a very good sign.

Edit: 6.07% calculated using rest of world sale and profit.

[ABHI_1512]

Originally Posted by GTO

The company treated India well and hence, vice versa happened. Kia has launched top-class products, one after another. Their execution & marketing skills are also exemplary.

The Koreans were always good at adding features & tech. They then brought in A+ engines & transmissions. In recent years, their suspension tuning skills have vastly improved. Now, they have to work on the "safety" front. The Verna scored a full 5-stars and we want that extended to others in the model range.

Kia has basically taken the Hyundai formula when they saw that Indian loves gizmos and features in their cars more than anything. They loaded their cars with features first and then slowly worked towards the mechanicals. First the engines, then the suspension and now they are working towards making the cars safer with Hyundai and dare I say KIA also working towards it.

And now compare this to what the Americans or the Europeans did. They came up with mechanically sorted and more often then not safer cars first with more focus on drivability and less on features and look where they ended up !!

It’s to KIA’s credit that they understood the demands of the Indian auto market and actively worked towards meeting those demands. The return of manual transmissions is the result of some swift decision making and that is what exactly defines the success of KIA in India. The plethora of choices for each car of KIA or even HYUNDAI is something that every manufacturer can learn from them. There is something for every one by way of choices, be it fuel or engines or transmission.

And they sticking to Diesels is also commendable. They are well on their way to become a credible player in India with more market share in the days to come

[Gupts007]

Kia was the last of the car brands to enter India and they really seem to have found a winning formulae. Despite the abysmal safety ratings for their vehicles they have somehow found the way to rule our hearts. Loading their vehicles with never before seen features at these price points, continuing with Diesels and offering multiple transmission options, they have cracked the puzzle that Ford couldn't do in 27 years here.