KIA Seltos – Inspired by the badass in You

The five seat Seltos SUV is Kia’s first model for India and has the task of establishing the Korean carmaker in our market.
It does have the right ingredients for the job. The Seltos is attractive, keenly priced and comes with a wide range of
engine and gearbox options. On offer are 1.5-litre petrol, 1.4-litre turbo-petrol and 1.5-litre diesel engines, each
available with manual and automatic gearbox options. Impressively, all versions of the Seltos comply with BS6 emission
norms from launch. The Kia Seltos is a mid-sized SUV with city-friendly dimensions. It’s got an upright stance, something
Indian SUV buyers like, and also sports sleek styling. Kia’s signature ‘Tiger Nose’ grille is the focal point at the front and
the Seltos also features a split headlamp arrangement, in line with latest style trends. Attention to detail and overall
quality is excellent. Interestingly, Kia sells the Seltos with two style packages – Tech Line is reserved for the 1.5L petrol
and diesel while the GT sportier GT Line is exclusive to the 1.4 turbo-petrol. The latter gets a few more frills such as red
detailing on the outside and is also the only one to feature an all-black interior theme.

Pricing Strategy:
The Korean carmaker's pricing strategy for all of 16
variants covers virtually every price point and starts from
Rs 9.69 lakh and goes up to Rs 15.99 lakh.

The Kia Seltos has been introduced with six engine and
gearbox options, which marks a segment-first. These
options include a 1.5-litre petrol with a 6-speed manual
and CVT gearboxes, a 1.5-litre diesel mated to either a
6-speed manual or a 6-speed torque converter, and a
1.4-litre direct injection turbo-petrol paired with either
a 6-speed manual or a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic
gearbox.

Kia is officially offering the Seltos in eight trim-levels

with the 1.5-litre diesel and petrol variants being
present in the Tech Line (it uses the HT suffix) and the
1.4 petrol available with just the GT Line (it uses the GT
suffix). The style lines are not available across all variants. While the Tech Line is available on the 1.5 litre engines –the
GT Line is only offered with the racier 140hp, 1.4-litre turbo-petrol motor. A 6-speed manual gearbox is standard across
the range, but each of the three BS6-compliant engines gets its own choice of automatic transmissions. The Tech Line
offers a wider spread of choice, starting from the base HTE trim to the top-end HTX+, compared to the GT Line that
starts only from the mid-spec GTK trim. (Source: autocarindia.com).

The aggressive pricing sees the base petrol Seltos undercut the Creta and Hector petrol variants, while being marginally
more expensive than the Kicks and Captur. However in terms of the diesels, the base Seltos manages to undercut all its
rivals, while being priced on par with the Creta. The top-spec versions of the diesel Kia still undercut the Hector and
Harrier, though are pricier than similarly sized rivals. With a wide variety of configurations, the features on offer and its
attractive pricing, Kia seems to have a winner on their hands.

Brand Perception & Market Strategy:

Kia Motors has found their rhythm and a niche in the
over-segmented automobile industry. Hyundai owns
33.88% share of Kia Motors. The reason for their
success can be attributed to the vast dealer network
it leverages from Hyundai. Kia has 12 manufacturing
assembly plants spread over 165 countries. They are
the fourth largest car OEM in the world spanning
over 166 dealerships. Kia Motors’ USP is their
competitive prices compared to the other players in the market. Over the years, however, the company has aimed to
change this image of their brand to one with great quality and design. This was done primarily through sports
sponsorship deals. Kia announced itself as the official FIFA partner and was sponsored in FIFA 2002. All the way until the
year 2022, they have obtained sponsorship deals. Futuristic thinking coupled with sports sponsorship has helped to alter
their brand image in favor of great quality and design, as opposed to merely known for competitive pricing. Besides, Kia
has also secured sponsorship deals in cricket and tennis.

Kia’s 7-year warranty on its products further promoted the brand and enhanced the image of great quality and design.
Their marketing strategy progressed from raising awareness in their customers to captivating their attention, then
stimulating their desire and lastly, calling for action. They focus not only on grabbing the attention of their customers
through mass media; advertising, online blogging, banners, etc. They also took several steps ahead with their under-the-
line promotion strategies. This included direct customer contact, sales promotions, and sponsorships. Further, Kia
motors have an online portal to forge relations with customers online. Kia Motors have also taken steps towards
creating awareness about environmental issues. They have a partnership with Trees in Cities, aiming to instill a desire for
planting trees in people. These additional steps are necessary for a company to stay ahead of the curve.
Their focus on customer satisfaction and competitive pricing have already won them a prestigious global position. Their
brand positioning has successfully portrayed them as a company with great quality and design, which is backed up by
the sponsorships and partnerships they have with sports.

Market Performance:
Barely three months after the launch of its first product on August 22 – the Seltos SUV – the company has grabbed a
near-5 percent UV market share. In October, the Seltos notched its best monthly sales yet – 12,786 units – and crossed
the 25,000-unit milestone in the domestic market. The carmaker reportedly sold 2,184 Seltos SUVs on the festival of
Dhanteras (October 25), which is popular in India for purchase of a new vehicle, as well as other consumer buys.

Cumulative sales for the August-October 2019 period add up to 26,576 units, which constitutes a monthly average of
8,858 units, which is very good going for a new car brand in the country.

Kia Motors India says it has received over 60,000 bookings for the Seltos till now and, to ensure timely deliveries, has
started the second shift to ramp-up production at its manufacturing facility in Anantapur. The company says it will not
close bookings as the plant is fully capable of meeting the rising demand for the Seltos.

Source: https://www.autocarindia.com/car-news/