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Old 17th July 2019, 21:50   #1021
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re: The Kia Seltos SUV (SP Concept). EDIT : Launched at Rs. 9.69 lakhs

Quote:
Originally Posted by NH08 View Post
Kia Seltos - 6000 bookings on the first day itself.
MG Hector - Waiting period extending to months.
Toyota - may be launching Vellfire.
And still I read that auto sector is going down.
Or is it that the slowdown is for only existing models, not for new models?
Study the market intensively. Launch products that customers really want.
Do not shortchange them - though Kia is faltering on this part.
Promise the customer world class ownership and world class service.
And watch them flock to your doorstep giving you their business.

And - Do not take customers for granted because the tide can turn in an instant.
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Old 18th July 2019, 00:41   #1022
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re: The Kia Seltos SUV (SP Concept). EDIT : Launched at Rs. 9.69 lakhs

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Originally Posted by Enigmatic View Post
I literally have only one question:

Why launch a premium brand (compared to Hyundai) when you are not going to provide the top-end variant with all premium features (compared to Hyundai)?

I understand that this is done to keep the cost in check, however it is a premium brand!

I honestly have never seen a more unnecessarily complicated feature distribution list.

Best,
Enigmatic
Here in USA, KIA is not considered premium when compared with Hyundai. It is actually other way around.
KIA is considered a cheaper, sportier alternative to Hyundai.
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Old 18th July 2019, 00:58   #1023
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re: The Kia Seltos SUV (SP Concept). EDIT : Launched at Rs. 9.69 lakhs

Few more videos of the Seltos. Kindly ignore the audio.



This one is probably from the plant:


Few takeaways from Car India's first drive report, which many may not have read. (http://carindia.in/kia-seltos-india-test-review/)

1. The 10.25" unit is sourced from LG.
2. Its a 400W speaker setup from the Bose.
3. Kia has joined hands with Vodafone for Connect services.
4. Claimed 0-100 km/h of 11.8 seconds for 1.5 petrol.
5. Claimed 0-100 km/h of 9.7 seconds for 1.4 turbo petrol.

Quote:
And like the other two automatic variants, the diesel AT gets three driving modes (Normal, Eco, and Sport) along with three traction control settings, including Mud, Wet, and Sand. This version is a complete all-rounder which will live up to your demands, be it city or highway, efficiency or performance.
So, does that mean the diesel AT gets the driving modes? Or it could be that it was present in the prototype. Strange that no other report mentions about this.

6K bookings in a day is great. But, sad to see that they still haven't published the official variant list.
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Old 18th July 2019, 07:20   #1024
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re: The Kia Seltos SUV (SP Concept). EDIT : Launched at Rs. 9.69 lakhs

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Originally Posted by akhil_rpmlover View Post
So, does that mean the diesel AT gets the driving modes? Or it could be that it was present in the prototype. Strange that no other report mentions about this.
Most of the cars tested by the media, especial NDTV who has mentioned that the test cars were all mixed varients which might go in for the production spec. It was there for the media to taste all the features in one unit.

Wow? Is Kia tryna impress media or customers?

Well, the Diesel AT is supposed to get the driving modes as it was already mentioned above in one of the leak specifications. I believe all AT gets drive mods.
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Old 18th July 2019, 07:26   #1025
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re: The Kia Seltos SUV (SP Concept). EDIT : Launched at Rs. 9.69 lakhs

It however all depends on the pricing, however Kia Seltos' pre-bookings get overwhelming response

- Kia site received around two lakh hits on 16th July

- Kia online booking site alone is unprecedented, with 1,628 booking coming in just one day.

-Seltos has generated an overwhelming response with 6,046 bookings on the first day itself.

Link
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Old 18th July 2019, 07:28   #1026
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re: The Kia Seltos SUV (SP Concept). EDIT : Launched at Rs. 9.69 lakhs

Quote:
Originally Posted by volkman10 View Post
- Kia site received around two lakh hits on 16th July
These 2 lakh hits were from 7000 people who signed up to book but had to log in again and again and again when nothing worked
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Old 18th July 2019, 08:01   #1027
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re: The Kia Seltos SUV (SP Concept). EDIT : Launched at Rs. 9.69 lakhs

Quote:
Originally Posted by volkman10 View Post

- Kia site received around two lakh hits on 16th July

- Kia online booking site alone is unprecedented, with 1,628 booking coming in just one day.
Even if you consider the two lakh hits are genuine individuals and not multiple attempts by an individual to log in, the total online booking still is just 1,628 (.81%). With all the buzz around this car they could have surely done better.

On a different note, I am not too comfortable reading that the steering lacks feedback on the manual version of the 1.4 Turbo Petrol, but is better on the DCT, in sports mode.

People who prefer the stick shift like me are in a real dilemma. Only way to clear all the doubts been raised around the Seltos is too wait until we see and feel the product ourselves.
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Old 18th July 2019, 08:14   #1028
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re: The Kia Seltos SUV (SP Concept). EDIT : Launched at Rs. 9.69 lakhs

Quote:
Originally Posted by momsonlydriver View Post
Well, the Diesel AT is supposed to get the driving modes as it was already mentioned above in one of the leak specifications. I believe all AT gets drive mods.
Only DCT is getting Multi Drive modes and not the Diesel AT. Pls refer the sheet posted earlier and it gets only 2 Airbags as compared to 6 in 1.4 Turbo.

Media people are getting pre production prototypes which are of course mix of everything so let’s just say that Kia is kind of trying to impress media to spread positive word about the car.

Last edited by NAVREVV : 18th July 2019 at 08:17.
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Old 18th July 2019, 08:44   #1029
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re: The Kia Seltos SUV (SP Concept). EDIT : Launched at Rs. 9.69 lakhs

Korean seltos in different colors, interior trims.
4WD variant also seen.
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Old 18th July 2019, 09:06   #1030
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re: The Kia Seltos SUV (SP Concept). EDIT : Launched at Rs. 9.69 lakhs

6000 plus bookings for a 15 lac+ car on day one. Unbelievable and a unreasonable feat. More so when those who have booked have not seen the car in person nor test driven it, leave apart the prices. This can only happen when

1. Cheap and easy credit is available for cars. This is not even a remote case in India.

2. Booming car demand. Nopes, we are at the trough of the cyclical demand.

3. You have the deepest penetration across the market. Again not the case. Trust me many even in urban cities don’t know that a brand like Kia exists.

I remember when Santro was launched in November 2018 it received a record 35k plus bookings. Nothing hiding the fact that today it is nowhere near to be called a successful product. Reality kicked in too fast for it.

Is there a chance that these companies are playing with the initial booking numbers swelling them up to put the hype on fire. Anyways the dispatches will happen over months. No body will ever know the actual initial booking numbers.
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Old 18th July 2019, 09:40   #1031
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re: The Kia Seltos SUV (SP Concept). EDIT : Launched at Rs. 9.69 lakhs

Quote:
Originally Posted by hydraulicsteer View Post
6000 plus bookings for a 15 lac+ car on day one. Unbelievable and a unreasonable feat.

Isthere a chance that these companies are playing with the initial booking numbers swelling them up to put the hype on fire. Anyways the dispatches will happen over months. No body will ever know the actual initial booking numbers.
Indians are extremely risk adverse (massive herd mentality). Which means indians will continue to flock to Maruti and Hyundai for the foreseeable future.

Any initial flood of bookings for a new brand like Kia, is very likely to be transient. After a year, the hype will die down, and customers will be back to finding safety with Maruti and Hyundai.

I would give a less than 5% probability that Kia will be able to garner 10% market share in india in 5-7 years time. And this would be true for any new brand launching in india. (However the Chinese new brands like MG may prove to be exceptions by aggressively undercutting prices, like they did in the smartphone market).

Personally i would like the new brands to succeed. For the simple reason that any new brand that really succeeds will help break the duopoly enjoyed by maruti, Hyundai in the indian market. So far, it is a myth that indian car market is competitive. The opposite is true - it must be one of the least competitive large car market in the whole world. As a result we get sub standard products at massive prices (with greedy govt taxes contributing equally to the harm).
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Old 18th July 2019, 10:19   #1032
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re: The Kia Seltos SUV (SP Concept). EDIT : Launched at Rs. 9.69 lakhs

I feel that most of the bookings done for Seltos, Hector and also most new launches are very impulsive in nature wherein the customer gives in to the feeling of want rather than need or afford. It is at the time of actual purchase that the reality of finances comes into the picture and a lot of bookings drop. We have seen in a number of cases that the actual sales of new cars are not commensurate with the booking numbers disclosed. The cost of a car is not like a smartphone where even if you don't like it, you can afford to change it. Just my thoughts
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Old 18th July 2019, 10:33   #1033
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re: The Kia Seltos SUV (SP Concept). EDIT : Launched at Rs. 9.69 lakhs

I am sure 1st month wholesale numbers for Seltos would look attractive but however actual reality kicks in when the model is 4-5 months old and demand starts going down. It's then that we know how well the new launch is doing in the market.

If it sustains the initial numbers it garnered initially after say 6 months, we know Kia has a winner at it's hand and could probably, sustain the competition else, if wholesale numbers show a downward spiral, we know that demand has gone down. We just need to wait and watch and see what is the trend for wholesale numbers.
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Old 18th July 2019, 10:44   #1034
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re: The Kia Seltos SUV (SP Concept). EDIT : Launched at Rs. 9.69 lakhs

Quote:
Originally Posted by PYSO View Post
Indians are extremely risk adverse (massive herd mentality). Which means indians will continue to flock to Maruti and Hyundai for the foreseeable future.

Any initial flood of bookings for a new brand like Kia, is very likely to be transient. After a year, the hype will die down, and customers will be back to finding safety with Maruti and Hyundai.

I would give a less than 5% probability that Kia will be able to garner 10% market share in india in 5-7 years time. And this would be true for any new brand launching in india. (However the Chinese new brands like MG may prove to be exceptions by aggressively undercutting prices, like they did in the smartphone market).
To me, Kia is nothing but a Hyundai in different clothes, can't remove this from my mind. And if there is anything that says Hyundai did what other manufacturers only dreamt (some still keep dreaming), wouldn't be surprised Kia repeating the same and taking up the third slot very soon. Korean aggressiveness is anything but to ignore!
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Old 18th July 2019, 10:57   #1035
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re: The Kia Seltos SUV (SP Concept). EDIT : Launched at Rs. 9.69 lakhs

Sometimes it helps when a brand is new or has no association. Can't imagine people lining up to buy $35K KIAs in the US however good they may be.
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