NEW DELHI: Kia Motors, the world's eighth largest car maker, on Thursday globally premiered its maiden product Seltos mid-SUV in India to take on Maruti Suzuki, the country's biggest car maker and Hyundai, who together command nearly 70 per cent of the car market.
While bookings of Kia Seltos will start next month, it would be commercially launched for sale first in India during the upcoming festival season when its price would be revealed.
Officials said the five seater would be priced anywhere between Rs 11 lakh and Rs 17 lakh.
At this price range, Kia Seltos will take on Tata Harrier, MG Hector, Nissan Kicks, Renault Captur and the Hyundai Creta.
The compact SUV will be produced at the Kia's $1.1 billion 536-acre manufacturing facility in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh. It has the capacity to produced 3 lakh cars annually.
Seltos is based on the Kia SP2 Concept that was shown at the 2018 Auto Expo and is a premium mass brand.
It comes in four variants (three automatic and one manual) — IVT, 7DCT, 6AT and Manual and three driving modes - Normal, Eo and Sports.
Seltos will also have Electronic Stability control and hill start assist for easy driving in difficult conditions.
The indigenously manufactured Seltos over three years is touted as stylish with plush and spacious interiors. The vehicle boasts many segment firsts with class leading safety features, making the vehicle capable to disrupt the segment and create a niche for itself in the fiercely price conscious car market.
"India is crucial market for Kia Motors overall growth story and will play an important role in expanding our global footprint," Han-Woo Park, CEO and president at Kia Motors Corporation, said.
He said India is a diverse country with distinct driving condition across the country and hence it was crucial to introduce a vehicle which is perfect in every sense.
"Globally, the world premiere of the Seltos is an important milestone for Kia as it shows our commitment to the Indian market," Park said, adding that this was just the beginning as the new brand has many surprises for the 4th largest auto market in the world.
