[vipul_singh]

Originally Posted by simeonovitch

Not a new player, owned by the market leader (Hyundai owns Kia). What does Hyundai gain? NOTHING.


[/b].

According to Wikipedia, Kia is 33% owned by Hyundai, and is not Hyundai's subsidiary:

"Hyundai Motor Company owns about one third of Kia Motor Corporation. While Hyundai Motor Company remains Kia's largest stakeholder, Kia Motor Company also retains ownership in some 22 different Hyundai Motor Company subsidiaries."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kia_Motors

If you have information to support the statement that Hyundai owns Kia, please provide.

Kia competes and cooperates with Hyundai globally. India is just another addition to the list, as per my understanding.

[SideView]

The success of this vehicle depends on the amount of extended warranty, service centers and ofcourse, pricing. (At the very least, until they get a foothold in the indian market)

We in general are risk averse, so if kia feels the product is reliable and backs it up with a good 5/7 warranty, then we have a winner in our hands.

[Sebring]

Looks like someone is sitting in his air-conditioned office and thinking up these ads. It would have been better to think in Hindi (appeal to the middle class and above) and then apply to English. How would you translate Badass to Hindi, (Bhadas is already a Hindi term and could confuse)? Even the characters and setting, they look too premium. Just my two cents.

Originally Posted by volkman10

KIA SELTOS Tvc

[jailbird_fynix]

Originally Posted by volkman10

KIA SELTOS TVC

to the top Youtube comment that says, " Ah, Tiger Shroff and a tiger-nose grill, now i get it. "

[troika]

Just read an article in a UK newspaper, they quote a poll by ' What Car?' where 18000 UK owners rated their most reliable cars. Hyndai was at No 9 and Kia at No 4!

[spindoc]

Originally Posted by simeonovitch

People should. Not a new player, owned by the market leader (Hyundai owns Kia). What does Hyundai gain? NOTHING.


For all these success stories, there are atleast ten thousand that failed.


I can criticize Hyundai for launching the Kia as a premium brand.


To me, the brand positioning makes ZERO SENSE.

While we don't need to wait for too long to see how the market receives Kia, here are a few points to consider:

1. Hyundai management does not decide Kia's strategy and they compete a lot globally with each having their own USPs.

Quoting the Hyundai India boss here (Source):

“Kia and Hyundai will be different. Management, operations and network... Everything will be different. Vendors can be shared for cost reduction, but strategy will be different," Y.K. Koo, managing director of Hyundai India, said in a press briefing.

"We will be aggressive against Kia. They are competition," he added.

2. It is not wrong to enter a market with well-entrenched competition. It is about betting on one's own vision, product portfolio and capabilities.

3. While Hyundai (and others) may have their own reasons for de-prioritising safety in automatics, this very fact could present an opportunity that Kia can capitalise on.
Until the Creta happened, most of us didn't know there was such a big market for a compact crossover priced > 15L OTR. While no one else has been able to replicate Hyundai's success yet, someone still could disrupt / expand the market.

4. Design appeal is subjective but many a product has won on the basis of great design. Kia has internationally seen a lot of success riding on the back of their differentiated designs, reliability and warranty programs, so no harm trying to get into a new market.

5. Pedigree: Kia could aggressively leverage their US reputation / ratings as part of their marketing initiatives.

[Lobogris]

Is there any indication if adaptive (radar based) cruise control will be offered? Along with that you also get collision avoidance systems. These would be critical for me. Currently only Volvo seems to offer them in India.

[vipul_singh]

Originally Posted by Lobogris

Is there any indication if adaptive (radar based) cruise control will be offered? Along with that you also get collision avoidance systems. These would be critical for me. Currently only Volvo seems to offer them in India.

Genuine question: does any vehicle in India offer a functioning RADAR cruise control? I thought those radio frequencies were reserved by the Ministry of Defence, and the request to release them for commercial use has been pending for years.

Collision Mitigation Braking may still be possible if it is entirely a camera based system, but it is highly unlikely.

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by vipul_singh

Genuine question: does any vehicle in India offer a functioning RADAR cruise control? I thought those radio frequencies were reserved by the Ministry of Defence, and the request to release them for commercial use has been pending for years.

Collision Mitigation Braking may still be possible if it is entirely a camera based system, but it is highly unlikely.

The frequencies were licensed for civilian use a while back. Volvo offers radar based cruise control in India.

[motorworks]

Originally Posted by simeonovitch

Fact check time.
A) This will have the same engines as the next-gen Creta.
B) This will be based on the same platform as the next gen Creta
C) There are three engines on offer. Two 1.5 (Petrol and Diesel) and a Turbo Petrol 1.4
D) Both the 1.5 make less power than the 1.6 in the Creta. Talk about taking a step back.

People should. Not a new player, owned by the market leader (Hyundai owns Kia). What does Hyundai gain? NOTHING.

I can criticize Kia for positioning the brand the way they have positioned it.
I can criticize Kia for giving it 1.5 Engines, which are less powerful than the ones in the current gen Creta.


To me, the brand positioning makes ZERO SENSE.

Not sure whats your whole point. Zero sense? I think it makes fantastic business sense! Hyundai knows it cannot pull off premium prices on its own, its got to match Suzuki step for step on any given day. It also senses a growing premium segment like the 12-20 lakhs SUV space and probably even the MUV space where there theres almost no competition. So it brings in Kia, but gives them a fair amount of freedom, lets them manufacture their own cars in their own well equipped factory. And now Kia has launched its first car, and by the way, we do not know the prices as yet. And looking at the equipment list it does look like the Seltos is going to be a bit more pricey than the Creta.

Well, so what? Hyundai would rather lose business to Kia rather to some one else isnt it? There is only so much volumes that a car like Creta can command. People buying in the premium space look for something new. And that is why you have everyone right from MG targeting this space.

Also, your point on sharing platforms and engines is so naive. All manufacturers do it now. I hope you have heard of the VW group where the car platforms and engines are all shared. Didnt VW position itself a little premium over Skoda in India? The Rapid is in fact manufactured by VW in its own factory.

And you say the Seltos has a less powerful engine than the Creta. Shows how aware you are about the market. All manufacturers including Hyundai are going to be using 1.5l Diesel engines post BS6, even Hyundai would use the same 1.5 Diesel engine for the next gen Creta. 1.6 diesels are probably going to be dead post BS6. Its either 1.5 or 2.0 that most manufacturers seem to be moving towards.

Your rant belongs to the Toyota Glanza thread or even a obsolete thread that probably talks about Renault pulse or Nissan Terrano and all those kind of pointless cars.
From the way I look at it, Kia is going to target what players like Ford, VW or Skoda could not achieve. Mid to premium positioning, with the feel good factors of being easy to own and maintain.

Obviously, Kia has a long road ahead and it does have help from Hyundai. They know that investments are easily amortised by sharing platforms and engines. But they would not sit back and be lazy like Nissan. Their approach of launching one car every 8-9 months and that too in the SUV / MUV space hints that they are serious.

[sharninder]

Originally Posted by simeonovitch

Abroad Kia = sportier Hyundai.

In India, Kia = ?????

Going by that logic, no new manufacturer should ever launch in India since they're not known. And the existing manufacturers should just keep selling the models that are already selling. No point launching anything new, right ?

Compared to the western world, we hardly have any decent options in all the segments. We also hardly have 7-8 major manufacturers selling cars. I think we need a lot more for our market to be competitive.

[gupta_chd]

Originally Posted by simeonovitch

D) Both the 1.5 make less power than the 1.6 in the Creta. Talk about taking a step back.

And to those of you who are still reading, well, if you want a 115 BHP SUV for 16-ish lakhs, using 1.5 Litre engines that are less powerful than the current Creta, please go ahead.
.

1.5 L diesel is next gen which is going to be used in Creta as well and 1.6 will be deprecated. I am not aware it will be more powerful or less but going by general consensus in automotive community, this engine should be an improvement over previous gen 1.6 engine. It does make sense to invest in a newer 1.5 engine which would also be BS6 compliant than an old 1.6 engine which would soon be deprecated. Small Icing on the cake will be to save about Rs. 6000 in insurance premiums annually.

[simeonovitch]

Originally Posted by gupta_chd

I am not aware it will be more powerful or less but going by general consensus in automotive community, this engine should be an improvement over previous gen 1.6 engine.

The 1.6-litre petrol engine in the current Creta makes a maximum power of 123PS
1.6-litre diesel engine of the current Creta makes 128PS

Starting with the diesel unit, Kia will offer a 1.5-litre motor which will make around 115PS of power. This engine is also expected to make more torque than the Hyundai Creta’s 1.6-litre diesel (127PS/260Nm). The petrol motor will also be a 1.5-litre unit that will push out around 115PS. The 1.4-litre Turbo GDI engine, on the other hand, is expected to churn out an impressive 140PS and 242Nm of torque. This engine, however, is likely to be offered only in the top-spec GT-line variant. All three engines will be BS6-compliant.

Source: https://www.zigwheels.com/news-featu...-launch/34249/

[panamera13]

Originally Posted by NGM

Reliability is one thing which am also keen to know about Kia as a brand? Can some of the Kia owners across globe comment on this. I can live without flashy colors or chrome lining. But fuss free experience to an extent is always preffered for which the mechanical is very important.
Will the relationship with Hyundai help Kia or are they just 2 competing brands?

14-15 years ago in the US Kia/Hyundai were considered cheap brands and were bought nearly only because they were cheaper than Totoya/Hyundai.

Since then, Hyundai (and Kia) have a come a long way from when Hyundai launched Sonata and it was received very well. After that they were on an upward trajectory and got the brand recognition they were vying - they are no longer considered a cheap alternative for Japanese brands.

The recent launch of Kia Telluride has been received extremely well in the US as well. I would say Kia is in it for the long run and they're taking India seriously.

For me, I'm on this thread since my dad wanted to buy a Creta and I stopped him and wait some more...looks like he'll be a Seltos owner soon.

[vsrivatsa]

Originally Posted by simeonovitch

Fact check time.
A) This will have the same engines as the next-gen Creta.
B) This will be based on the same platform as the next gen Creta
C) There are three engines on offer. Two 1.5 (Petrol and Diesel) and a Turbo Petrol 1.4
D) Both the 1.5 make less power than the 1.6 in the Creta. Talk about taking a step back.

And to those of you who are still reading, well, if you want a 115 BHP SUV for 16-ish lakhs, using 1.5 Litre engines that are less powerful than the current Creta, please go ahead.

The "step back" items you called in terms of engine power are correct but these decisions seem to have been made due to BS6 Compliance and the only solace would be that these are more environment friendly. So, the differences that you are calling out currently between Creta and Seltos will get ironed out as of Apr 2020 when BS VI kicks in and the Creta and the Seltos will be more like how we have the Nissan Terrano and the Renault Duster.

For people who want more power on the engine side, it looks like only Fiat managed to make a 2.0 L engine which is both BS VI Compliant and provides sufficient BHP to talk about at a decent price point. This is why we see the rest of the competition like Harrier/Hector/Compass just plonking the same Fiat engine on their offerings.