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-   -   Kia Motors coming to India (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/173228-kia-motors-coming-india-21.html)

Actually you never know. Kia commenced trial production on Jan 29th 2019 and it is highly possible they may be in a position to Launch the Sp2 by April, 3 months ahead pf schedule! The gap between Trial production and launch for global manufacturers is not more than 2-3 months. You can be sure that Kia's cars given to media will be excellent fit and finish, unlike what Tata had given for Harrier. Also they will build up enough launch stocks to start immediate delivery for substantial numbers as their plant can build 300,000 cars in a year!

Kia doesn't want to leave any stone unturned. They seem to have come fully prepared, no doubt taking all the inputs from Hyundai, and want to show how serious they're about the Indian market. They finished building their manufacturing facility very early, have started trial production and now started opening up showrooms. General ads have started appearing on TV, slowly introducing themselves to the general Indian public. They're not even trying to piggyback Hyundai and want to make their own identity. Kudos to them for all the effort! clap:

MG on the other hand showcased their Chinese cars in the malls, as per reports, even some of the promotional materials being in Chinese. IMO, they should showcase their British heritage strongly and avoid any connection to China, which may have negative effect on Indian buyers.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ml#post4512695

This is owned by T&T Motors and recently was setup as a showcase store. Dealers from all over India visited here. We can expect other dealers to open stores on similar pattern in coming months.

Yes, the cars are around 6 months away but time does fly. Having a set guidelines for all is important and maybe they wanted to have a physical store in place which becomes reference for others. They might be supporting this dealership for a while.

Can talk about Chandigarh where Krishna Auto will be operating from their own space in a Mall. They have similar sizes showroom in the same - Elante Mall for Volvo & Triumph. Workshop is being made at another place in Industrial Area. Given the high rentals/ costs, having a sales showroom at high footfall area & workshop at some cheaper place is surely a good strategy, in the beginning at least. KIA on the other hand is going very aggressive and they are going for large dealers/ showrooms.

When I spoke with Mr Rajiv Chaba, he did mention that they were planning not to persuade dealers to build Taj Mahals as showrooms. I guess they will start like this and build proper showrooms once volumes are achieved

I saw this Kia Optima last night on Gold Course Road, Gurgaon.

Kia launches its promotional campaign in India

Kia Motors has launched its first brand promotion campaign called ‘Magical Inspirations, Stunning Designs’ on television and digital platforms.



The campaign kicked off with the release of teasers featuring an astronaut, tiger, firefly, humming bird, ballerina, Felix the cat and a footballer around a Kia car. According to the company, its models draw inspiration from the qualities of each of these characters.

Kia is gearing up to launch its first product in India in the second half of 2019. The Kia SP2i will be manufactured at the Ananthapur factory, where trial production commenced in January 2019. Kia is also rumoured to launch the Carnival MPV and a cross-hatch in the Indian market, however there has been no official word yet regarding these models.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aHVz5RKi1w

Link to Team-BHP News

Really liking the ad campaign for India. Very good ad!! The car pictured in the ad is a Stinger isn't it?

Seeing the very high frequency of the advertising campaign of Kia now, it seems they are readying for the Kia SP2 (aka Tusker) launch now. Initially 1 month they would spend in brand building ads like this and then eventually get down to advertise the actual vehicle that they will be selling in India.
Here is the best rendering I have seen so far of the car (Courtesy KKSStudios)


My guess is they should be ready to launch and may finally launch after the elections are over in India. The election scenario may hold back quite a few launches as companies are wary of change in government policies.

Been picking Kia more in US with fleet operators during my visits. The interiors are too plain. Since they are fleet sales, the features could be less but still the thing you see on the outside is not really visible inside. Hope the SUVs they introduce here have good quality interiors and features.

I have used Kia a lot when I was in NZ and its a nice sturdy car. The Sportage is well designed and you never feel its out of place as NZ roads are always the curvy ones like the ghat sections as its all mountains. The vehicle will make you feel grounded wit a good suspension never for once make you to slow down or to be scared of the roads

Am I the only one who can't make head or tail of this ad?

The Stinger is a looker though!!

+1. They say they've taken inspiration from all those elements to design their cars, but the only thing that's understandable to me is the tiger nose grille that's inspired from the tiger. That's also something I know because the grille is called as such in various forums/reviews, the ad itself doesn't convey that.

:OT
IMO, MG seems to be doing a much better job at marketing their brand and the Hector to the Indian public

As confusing as Kia's ad might be - just look at the views received - 155 million! For reference, Wikipedia estimates the middle class in India as 600 million people.

This doesn't even cover the huge campaigns they are running on TV. Sometimes I get irritated because Kia ads come twice in an advertisement break - during prime hours.

MG is surely doing a brilliant job on its own right - but is no match for the amount of money Kia seems to be pumping into their marketing campaign.

Add to that the brand recall, or rather brand name connect. Don't know how and why, but people (general public) are more receptive to Kia than to MG. Perhaps because the brand name sounds to Japanese/Korean lineage, something that Indians are very receptive to, as compared to European/US ones.

Kia is going to be the Nexa for Hyundai, I think, even better - they have a good lineup of good looking cars.

"No Indians allowed, only Koreans" restaurant popping up near Kia Motors factory.

I couldn't find an appropriate thread to post this but since it closely relates to KIA Motors coming up in India, I thought of sharing this.

Please delete if inappropriate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoP44GJFPz4