The Kia Seltos has gathered over 60,000 bookings in the Indian market, Manohar Bhat, VP and Head of Sales and Marketing, Kia (India), has told The Economic Times. Enthused by the continued demand for its maiden product in India, the company has already started its second shift at Anantapur facility to ramp up the monthly production to over 15,000 units. The company has added 1,000 employees for the same.
Kia had earlier planned the 3 lakh annual capacity for its initial six models. But if the first model (Seltos) alone is taking up half or more than half of the capacity, it is obvious that Kia will have to ramp up the capacity to make space for other upcoming models. Furthermore, Kia is also studying the readiness for the third shift, which will further increase the annual production capacity from currently 3 lakh units to 4 lakh units.
Kia is already pushing the envelope with just a single product (Seltos) in hands which has already overtaken the segment leader Hyundai Creta within just a few months of its launch. Furthermore, it will also expand its portfolio with the launch of Carnival in January 2020, followed by a sub-4 metre SUV by July next year.
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Kia has received an overwhelming response for the Seltos all across the Indian cities. While 60% of the demand is recorded from the top 10 major cities, the remaining demand is recorded from tier II towns and cities. Kia has invested US$ 1.1 billion (INR 7,755 crore) into its state-of-the-art plant in Anantapur and it will double up the investment to US$ 2 billion (INR 14,100 crore) in the coming time for expansion of operations, products and R&D units.
*Ex-showroom Delhi
[Source: ET Auto]
