Kia is one of the popular car manufacturers in India. They entered the Indian market with the Seltos back in 2019. Since then, it has been a popular SUV among buyers in the segment. Kia currently has the Sonet as their entry-level model, Seltos, Carens, and the EV6 in their Indian lineup. We now have reports suggesting that the manufacturer is planning to increase the price of some models. Kia is all set to increase the price of their popular mid-size SUV, the Seltos, and also the MPV Carens. The manufacturer announced that the price for both of these models will see a price hike from October this year. The price of these models will be increased by up to 2 percent.
This is the second time Kia has implemented a price hike on its models during this financial year. At the moment, the price for other models in the lineup would remain unchanged. Kia recently launched the heavily updated Seltos SUV in the market. A detailed first-drive review of the Seltos facelift is available on our website. The price for the Kia Seltos starts at Rs 10.89 lakh, ex-showroom. Last week, the manufacturer even introduced two new variants to meet the demand during the upcoming festive season.
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Speaking to the media, Hardeep S Brar, Kia India National Head (sales & marketing), said, “While many of the companies have already taken the price increase post-April, we, however, did not take… besides, the raw material prices are going up, and we introduced the new Seltos, and a lot of investment has gone into the product, so we think it is time that we take the price increase.” Before this, Kia had increased the price of their models in April when they updated the model to comply with the new RDE norms.
Coming to the recent price hike, Kia has not mentioned which all variants would be seeing a price hike. The price of the lower variants is likely to go up by at least Rs 20,000, and the higher versions would see a price hike of around Rs 40,000. Kia Carens was introduced in the market as a Recreational Vehicle or MPV. It quickly gained customer attention for its premium looks, spacious cabin, and a long list of features. The price for Carens currently starts at Rs 10.45 lakh, ex-showroom, and goes up to Rs 18.90 lakh, ex-showroom, for the top-end trim. Just like the Seltos, Carens is also likely to see a similar pattern when it comes to price hikes.
Both the Seltos and Carens are available with petrol and diesel engine options. In fact, Kia is known for offering a variety of engine and transmission options to its customers. The Seltos gets a 1.5-liter naturally aspirated petrol engine with IVT and manual transmission options. It also gets a new 1.5-liter turbocharged petrol engine which comes with a 7-speed DCT & iMT gearbox option. The diesel engine on the Seltos is a 1.5-liter turbocharged unit with a 6-speed manual and 6-speed automatic transmission option. The Carens is also offered with a similar engine and transmission option. The diesel version of the Carens gets iMT, which is missing in the Seltos now.
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