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Kia plans new hybrid compact SUV for India to plug a key gap for wider adoption
The launch of a Kia hybrid SUV in India may just be the tipping point for adoption of hybrid cars in the world's third largest car market.
Kia Corp. is planning to launch at least two hybrid SUVs in India to align with a new emissions policy that encourage the transition to greener cars.
The South Korean carmaker will launch a sub-four metre hybrid SUV in the next 18 months, according to people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity as the details are not yet public. A second, larger hybrid SUV will follow. The timeline for these rollouts isn’t final and may change, they said.
The launches will make Kia India Pvt. Ltd. the third mass-market carmaker to launch a hybrid car in the country—only Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (Grand Vitara, Victoris, Invicto) and Toyota India (Hyryder, Innova) have such offerings, albeit at higher price points. That, when local carmakers Tata Motors Ltd. and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. have focused on electric cars.
Kia’s strategy underscores how automakers are broadening their lineups to meet stricter emission norms. A draft of the emissions policy released last week signalled a shift from electric ambitions to promoting hybrids for a multi-fuel roadmap for cleaner mobility in the future.
A representative for Kia in India did not respond to an email seeking comments on the new hybrid launches.
Kia Hybrid SUV: A Tipping Point?
Kia’s hybrid compact SUV could also help unleash demand for hybrids in the South Asian nation, where affordability and infrastructure gaps make dual-powered vehicles a practical alternative to EVs.
As global automakers recalibrate their strategies amid uneven EV adoption and tightening emission norms, compact hybrids could emerge as a new battleground in India as well as other emerging economies where small vehicles still rule the road.
The absence of hybrids in the compact segment has so far curbed adoption of the technology in the country, with such vehicles making up just about 2.5% of India’s passenger vehicle market—less than half the share held by EVs, according to government registration data.
That makes hybrid entry critical for Kia, which lacks a mass-market EV and relies heavily on diesel and petrol models such as the Seltos and Sonet in India. Kia India currently sells the locally made Carens Clavis EV and the imported EV6.
