Kia Seltos & Sonet drive the company past one lakh CKD export mark. Here's how

Kia India plays a major role as Kia Corporation’s export hub accounting for 50 per cent of the company’s CKD exports worldwide.

The South Korean carmaker’s Indian division, Kia India has surpassed the one lakh export mark for its Completely Knocked Down (CKD) vehicles. The company has been exporting CKD units since June 2020 from its Anantapur manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh. CKD units are the cars that are delivered in parts from one destination and then assembled in the other destination where they are sold.

Kia India currently exports the Seltos, Sonet and Carens as CKD models to Uzbekistan, Ecuador and Vietnam

Interestingly, Kia India plays a major role as Kia Corporation’s export hub accounting for 50 per cent of the company’s CKD exports worldwide. Kia India currently exports the Seltos, Sonet and the Carens as CKD units to various countries including Uzbekistan, Ecuador and Vietnam.

With growth in exports for CKD units, Kia India aims to export over 38,000 CKD units across Uzbekistan, Ecuador, and Vietnam markets in 2024. Moreover, the company also plans to expand its CKD exports to more locations such as the Middle East and Africa, with an aim to double the export volume by 2030.

Speaking of exports, Kia India had surpassed the 2.5 lakh export mark in April 2024. As of now, the company has exported over 3.67 lakh cars from India. Joonsu Cho, Chief Sales Officer, stated that India is a key market for Kia Corporation, serving not only as a strong sales driver but also as an emerging export hub with models like the Seltos, Sonet, and Carens performing strongly in international markets.

Key role played by Kia Seltos and Sonet

Kia India noted that the Seltos remained the top contributor accounting for about 60 per of the total exports. Meanwhile the Kia Sonet accounted for 34 per cent of the total exports while the Kia Carens had a share of 6 per cent.

Interestingly, it’s not just the export markets, but the domestic market too where the Kia Seltos has remained the best performer for the company followed by the Kia Sonet. In August this year, Kia India reported to have crossed the ten lakh domestic sales mark within 59 months since the company started its retail operations in the country.

The company stated that while Seltos remains a hot-seller for Kia, models like Sonet and Carens have been fairly well received too. The Sonet competes in the sub-compact SUV space and accounts for 34 per cent of total domestic sales of the company, while the Carens is a key player in the three-row utility vehicle segment and has a 16 per cent share in the Kia India sales.