Korean automobile giant Kia Motors, which is one of the newest players to enter the Indian passenger vehicle market, announced on Thursday the global debut of its new SUV Seltos. This will be the very first Kia badged model to be offered in the Indian market, where the company plans to launch four new models over the next two years.
The production of all the four new models will be done at the company’s Anantpur plant in Andhra Pradesh. “Kia Motors’ India project plays a crucial role in our global plans... We have invested a tremendous amount of energy and resources to position India as a primary driver of Kia’s future success,” Kia Motors Corporation president and chief executive officer Han-Woo Park said.
Kia has invested $2 billion in India, including $1.1 billion into the plant which has a capacity of 3 lakh units annually. Park said Kia is beginning its journey in India with 265 touch points in 160 cities, which will be increased to 300 by 2020 and 350 by 2021. The Seltos, Kia said, has been designed and developed keeping the Indian market in mind, but will be exported from its domestic plant to markets in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and other Asian countries.
Speaking about the car, Seltos will come with a segment first 1.4 Turbo GDI engine with a 7DCT transmission along with other diesel and petrol variants in automatic and manual options. Seltos will also be a segment first in that it will be BS-VI compliant in all powertrains.
The vehicle will come in petrol, turbo-petrol and diesel variants and will be offered in three automatic transmission options — IVT, (Intelligent continuously variable transmission) 7DCT, 6AT and 6-Speed Manual transmission — giving users the option to choose the combo that conforms to their driving style.
On the outside, Seltos gets LED lighting fixtures all around and shows off its famous ‘Tiger Nose’ grill. At the rear, it has a strikingly large windshield above the LED tail lamps that are connected by a chrome trim, while on the inside, it boasts the UVO Connect platform which comes with 37 smart features.
These smart features come under five distinct categories: Navigation, Safety and Security, Vehicle Management, Remote Control and Convenience. The UVO facility will be free for the first three years for users. On the safety side, Seltos gets 6 airbags, an antilock braking system and is built on a robust structure which uses advanced high strength steel (AHSS), Kia Motors said.