Seltos and Sonet help Kia to surpass one lakh CKD exports mark. Check details

Kia India has announced that it has surpassed the milestone of exporting one lakh units of Completely Knocked Down (CKD) vehicles since it began shipment in June 2020 from its Anantapur manufacturing facility. The company stated that the Indian entity is one of the key export hubs for the Kia corporation accounting 50 per cent of the company’s CKD exports worldwide.

Complete Knocked Down or CKD cars are the products that are delivered in parts and assembled at the destination. This means that various components are delivered from suppliers and assembled in the import country. Kia India currently exports the Seltos, Sonet and the Carens as CKD units to various countries including Uzbekistan, Ecuador and Vietnam.

Interestingly, the company expects to export over 38,000 CKD units across Uzbekistan, Ecuador, and Vietnam markets in 2024. Meanwhile, the company plans to expand its CKD footprint to the Middle East and Africa, to double the export volume by 2030.

Earlier this April, Kia India surpassed the 2.5 lakh vehicle export mark. Now, the company reports crossing 3.67 lakh units in exports. The Kia 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.

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.

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Kia India: Domestic market performance

Besides exports, the Kia India had also achieved one million sales milestone in the domestic market earlier in August this year. The company achieved the milestone in 59 months since its started sales in India in 2019 with its first product being the Seltos.

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.

Kia India reported annual sales volume of 45,226 units in 2019, 140,505 units in 2020, 181,583 units in 2021, and 254,556 units in 2022. In 2023, Kia India reported sales of 255,000 units.

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