Kia Motors chose India for the world premiere of its SUV Seltos, an event that marked the entry of the South Korean company into the world's fourth-largest automotive market.
The car features Kia’s signature tiger nose grille and its heartbeat shape LED DRL and tail lamps. The world eighth largest automaker said the car is a collaborative effort of Kia’s global design centres that did extensive research on the current and upcoming trends of car design around the world and tailored it for the Indian market. .
The BS VI-complaint Kia Seltos, which comes with segment first 1.4 Turbo GDI with 7DCT transmission, is manufactured indigenously. Originally slated for the Indian market, the vehicle will also eventually be available in global markets from the fourth quarter of this year.
India is a crucial market for Kia Motors’ overall growth story and will play an important role in expanding the carmaker’s global footprint, the company said in a statement.
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“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. We are excited to pursue our India journey with Kia Seltos which is crafted and built keeping in mind the Indian customers and their needs,” said Han-Woo Park, CEO and president, Kia Motors Corporation.
Seltos oozes contemporary and stylish design with plush and spacious interiors and is a smart, connected vehicle with UVO Connect technology which offers 37 smart features for an engaging drive and enhanced convenience, the company said. Kia Seltos also has Smartstream, a third-generation powertrain developed for high efficiency and powerful performance.
The vehicle boasts many world, India and segment firsts with class leading safety features, making the vehicle capable to disrupt the segment and create a niche for itself, according to the company.
The Seltos also features multiple driving modes that alters the responsiveness of the car and transforms the car’s driving character to optimise its performance in all conditions. Drivers can choose from ‘Normal’, ‘Eco’ and ‘Sport’ mode. The Eco mode is for maximising vehicle range by using fuel-saving measures, while Sport mode increases responses from the steering and electric motor to maximise the dynamic driving feel of the car. Normal mode provides a careful balance between the two. It also comes equipped with multiple grip controls, where drivers can choose from mud, wet and sand mode depending on the road condition.
“We believe that Seltos is all set to propel Kia into becoming one of India’s prominent automobile players in the years to come. Globally, the world premiere of the Seltos is an important milestone for Kia as it shows our commitment to the Indian market. This is just the beginning as we have many surprises for the 4th largest auto market in the world,” Han-Woo Park adds.
With this, the company aims to reach out to every possible customer in the remotest corners of the country and plans to begin retail sales with 265 customer touch points, the highest for any new car entrant in India.
On the safety front, the car’s front and rear parking sensors and blind view monitor ensure that the visibility of unseen vehicles is not compromised for the driver. The car has an anti-lock braking system, a traction control system, a brake-assist system and hill-start assist control.
Kia Seltos will compete with the Hyundai Creta, Nissan Kicks, Renault Captur with a price that is expected to be between ₹11 lakh-₹16 lakh (ex-showroom).