Kia India is developing a mass-market electric vehicle (EV) for India that will debut in 2025.
“We are developing an India-centric EV grounds-up that we hope to launch in 2025,” Hardeep Singh Brar, national marketing and sales head of Kia Motors India, said at the sidelines of the launch of the new Seltos.
While the vehicle will be engineered at the KiaCorporation headquarters in South Korea, “there will be a significant contribution from our Indian R&D,” said Brar.
Kia Corporation is developing 14 battery electric vehicles (BEVs)s with an investment of $20 billion by 2030.
“We are evaluating these models and trying to see what fits for the Indian market. We brought the EV6 in India last year and we were surprised by the response to a car priced at Rs 60-70 lakhs.”
“We hoped to sell 100 odd cars but were surprised to see a sale of 400 units of EV6s. We plan to better that. We are hopeful of EV9, which we showcased at the expo this year,” he said.
Besides, the company is also participating in a Rs 2,000 crore PLI scheme for battery cell manufacturing.
Kia, which debuted in the Indian market in 2019, is looking at garnering a 10 per cent market share in the near future.
Without committing to a timeline, Brar said it is ready to grow what it calls the recreation vehicle (RV) segment with the launch of the face-lift Seltos which debuts with a 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine. The RV segment comprises SUVs and MPVs.
Kia plans on doubling the network of touchpoints. The company also plans to enter new segments.
