Kia plans to launch a new small car in India

It has by now become fairly well-known that Kia Motors is only about a year away from launching the production version of the SP-Concept SUV. It’s being said that Kia will launch another brand-new SUV in India by the end of this decade. More importantly, it looks like the company also plans to launch a new small car in India. In all likelihood, the upcoming Kia small car in India will become the third locally manufactured product from the carmaker.

Earlier, it was being said that the company would launch either the Picanto or the Rio in our car market. Now, however, it looks like the India-bound Kia small car would be an all-new model that will be tailor-made for our car market. This small car will likely play an important role in helping Kia Motors get into the list of the top 3-4 carmakers of India. It’s said that Hyundai is preparing a new compact car on the Picanto’s platform. This compact car could be a micro SUV that will be positioned below the Carlino. Since Hyundai and Kia are sister brands, Kia’s small car for India could be based on this upcoming Hyundai micro SUV.

It’s said that the upcoming SP Concept-based SUV, which is likely to be named Tusker, will become a direct rival to the hot-selling Hyundai Creta. The second upcoming Kia SUV could be a sub-4-meter model that will go on to rival the likes of the Maruti Vitara Breza. Together, these two SUVs should help Kia attract buyers in the highly lucrative compact SUV segments. Kia also plans to launch the Sportage SUV and the Carnival MPV in India. These models are likely to come to us via the CKD route and will be premium offerings.

Source – Cardekho