Kia has said Namaste to the Indian car market by unveiling a new SUV concept and putting its full range on display for the Indian car market to see at the 2018 Auto Expo. The SUV concept is called the SP and will be the first model that Kia will produce at their India plant in 2019. It will be joined by a compact SUV as well as an India specific compact sedan as the vehicles that will lead Kia’s foray into India.
While the SP was the highlight of the unveiling, the South Korean brand also showcased its entire range that is currently on sale in a variety of markets across the world. This range includes SUVs, hatchbacks, MPVs, sedans and of course their first attempt a premium sedan- the Stinger GT.
The hatchbacks were represented by the Picanto GT and Cee’d premium hatchback. The former is a sibling of the Hyundai Grand i10, though in this form it is a hot hatchback while most Indian readers will remember that a previous generation of the Cee’d was the reasonably priced car on the Jeremy Clarkson era of Top Gear motoring programme. Among the sedans were the Rio, Cadenza and Cerato. We believe that of these three Kia will base its compact sedan on the Rio.
Given that this is the era of SUVs, Kia had to bring its high riding vehicles and had everything from the little Sportage (in GT guise no less) to the Sorento and the massive Mohave which appears to be a slightly older design than the rest.
Lastly, Kia also showcased three plugin hybrid vehicles- the Optima sedan, Niro small SUV and the rather funky looking Soul full electric vehicle.
