[bsdbsd]

Eagerly anticipating Kia's arrival. Having driven Kia Sorento extensively in the last 3 years, does anyone know if Sorento is being considered for India market? Is there any information available on Kia's initial line up for India? Thanks.

[GTO]

If I was one of the small - medium sized manufacturers, I'd be damn afraid of Kia. Just notice the confidence (and arrogance???) coming through in this interview. They are determined, very smart and have bags full of money. When a big new player comes, the weak are the first to fall.

I'd say Kia's chances of success are much greater than MG Motors.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by GTO

If I was one of the small - medium sized manufacturers, I'd be damn afraid of Kia.

Forget small manufacturers - I believe even Maruti would be concerned!

If anyone has ever come any close to competing with MSIL - it's Hyundai. Hyundai is still a distant second in the market though with around 16% marketshare compared to 54% of the leader. But still they know what works, have the finances and they even have the exact similar product lineup to go ahead with Kia as well.

I have no doubt Kia will be a strong player in the future. My only doubt is whether Kia can do it without cannibalizing sales from Hyundai. If they manage to do that - Maruti Suzuki will surely come under further pressure, than what Hyundai has already been giving them.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by GTO

When a big new player comes, the weak are the first to fall.

And we need a manufacturer of this caliber/muscle to enter the market; weaker ones will definitely feel the heat, but I feel it will really make Suzuki to come out of their complacent self. And unlike VAG Hyundai/Kia doesn’t have the baggage of (pseudo) premium player.

[srishiva]

I think it will be difficult for Hyundai/Kia if both have the same type of products. They could be based on same platform and it will be like Skoda/VW for Vento etc. One will be costlier and for the looks and value, one would subsume the other.

I think Maruti has its own draws. It has grown with competition and the cars it offers are bought for different reasons. I would hope someone competes with them enough to offer better spec'ed cars. But Kia being like a Hyundai twin will not unless they create completely independent class of vehicles (like how Renault did the Kwid or Hyundai did Creta)

[ajmat]

KIA have stormed through Europe and the Sportage was the 10th best selling car in the UK in 2018.

Decent styling, great pricing, an effort to be more global than Korean is paying dividends. They dominate Russia big time. The Maruti Brand means cheap and a bit nasty nowadays. Hyundai is good stodgy value. Kia will be playing the youthful card !

Frankly it is the only new player which will enter the top 10 seller range within 5 years. Honda, Renault Rebel Alliance and VW group are really going to get kicked!

[tarik.arora]

Originally Posted by GTO

I'd say Kia's chances of success are much greater than MG Motors.

Rightly said. With Hyundai backing them with all the know-how, they have a better chance at succeeding. Add to that, the Koreans are known to be extremely target oriented, they will keep their sales teams on the boil.

A little
Recently saw some of the MG models (ZS, HS) displayed at a Mall in Noida, and i was surprised to see a lot of stuff in Chinese (Mandarin?). The motif's, infotainment systems and certain other places had things written in Chinese. No matter how they present themselves, they are after all owned by SAIC and that could be bad thing in India. I thought that they will not make the mistake of presenting themselves as a Chinese player, but the display cars tell a different story. Are they being transparent or just ignorant?

[rovingeye]

Originally Posted by tarik.arora

Recently saw some of the MG models (ZS, HS) displayed at a Mall in Noida, and i was surprised to see a lot of stuff in Chinese (Mandarin?). The motif's, infotainment systems and certain other places had things written in Chinese.

Are they being transparent or just ignorant?

They are being idiotic is what they are being! If they don't take the time to hire local talent and invest the time to localize (at the bare minimum translate the messages), they will stumble hard. They want to sell cars, not cheap electronic toys with Chinese manuals!! This is like Baba Ramdev trying to sell his Patanjali products in China without changing the packaging.

[The Observer]

Thank you GTO for sharing that interview. Very encouraging to hear KIA management talking about how they want to give us a global level of quality, at a time when other manufacturers try to compromise on quality for models targeted at India.

KIA will not aim at Maruti but at Mahindra and Tata, probably Honda too. They clearly want to start with SUV's and want to position their brand and vehicles as aspirational. KIA do not seem to reveal much on how they will cooperate or compete with Hyundai but i guess KIA will be more SUV-centric while Hyundai has a wider spread.

I think they will be smart enough not to go the VW-Skoda or Nissan-Renault rebadging way.

Interesting times ahead.

[JS Kwt]

Yes Bank ties up with Kia Motors

Through the partnership, the bank will be able to provide end-to-end financial solutions to Kia Motors India. Private sector lender Yes Bank Friday said it has inked a pact with Kia Motors for finance and banking solutions.

According to the memorandum of understanding (MoU) inked between both the companies, Yes Bank will offer financing and banking solutions to Kia car dealers with products such as term loans, cash credit and inventory funding.

It will also offer loans to the end-consumers of the automaker, which is set to enter the Indian market by the second half of 2019 with an SUV.

Through the partnership, the bank will be able to provide end-to-end financial solutions to Kia Motors India.

Besides, Yes Bank will also work towards developing exclusive digital banking solutions for Kia Motors in India.

"The bank has been working with various auto players to provide innovative finance solutions, thereby further strengthening our position in the competitive value-driven car segment and also contributing to the growth of the segment in the country," Yes Bank Senior Group President and Head (Retail and Business Banking) Pralay Mondal said in a statement.

Kia Motors India Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Kookhyun Shim said the partnership with Yes Bank will definitely set the benchmark of premium and hassle-free Kia experience.

"This partnership will empower our stakeholders and customers with financial products specifically tailored for them to facilitate their smooth entry into the world of Kia," he added.

Source

[vishnuramana]

KIA entering India is really an exciting time for vehicle buyers. Looking at their ads on TV, I think they are planning to stay for a very long time. Just hope they have a very reliable network.

[Nav-i-gator]

Any Idea about KIA positioning wrt pricing vis-a-vis similar Hyundai products? Is it more premium against Hyundai? It definitely look better than Hyundai (which says a lot, given Hyundais are one of the better looking ones in India among other players).

[Arjun Reddy]

Originally Posted by Nav-i-gator

Any Idea about KIA positioning wrt pricing vis-a-vis similar Hyundai products? Is it more premium against Hyundai? It definitely look better than Hyundai (which says a lot, given Hyundais are one of the better looking ones in India among other players).

I am guessing Kia will position itself above Hyundai. Going by what we have seen on the SP concept, it looks way more premium to the Creta.

Hyundai and Kia will play the 'moving the price goal post' game here. SP will be priced a good 2-3 lakhs above the Creta and once the new Creta comes in it will fill that gap and wait for the facelifted SP to move on from there. This would probably happen across the segments where the two sisters will be present. Just my two cents.

Would love to see Kia take on the mighty Innova with the Carnival.

This is supposed to be the 2020 Creta. Notice the 7 seat layout.

[Avenger_123]

Wow which platform are they going to use for this ?
Not sure how much space can we expect on the 7 seater version, even the 7 seat old gen Santa Fe was cramped.

[rovingeye]

Frankly speaking, I'm really, really excited for KIA SP Concept. I was one of those who was holding my breath for the Harrier launch, but from what we've heard so far, I'm really disappointed and have already struck it off of my list. And I believe lot of others will too once the "pedigree" and other marketing messages wear off and actual quality related issues come to the fore.

Go KIA!! Or should I say, Come Kia!