By Kia Motors commenced its India operation last year with the Seltos and the company followed up with the Carnival earlier this year. Both these models have been selling really well for the Korean manufacturer despite the slowing down in the auto industry. In May 2020, Kia has managed to sell more than 1600 units, which is really impressive considering that the portfolio includes just two models which are priced in the not so budget segment.
The South Korean manufacturer sold 1,611 units of Seltos and 50 units of Carnival. Even though the Seltos lost out to the second generation Hyundai Creta as sales of new models will be high in the initial period. The Creta and Seltos are basically same models with two different stylings as the platform of both models are same while the engine is also shared with identical gearbox options too available across the range except for some features.
Kia recently introduced the 2020 Model Year of Seltos and the new model comes with several features upgrades especially for lower variants to boost demand. The updated model gets Emergency Stop Signal, Smart-Key Remote Start (Only for automatic models), new dual-tone colour options and sunroof (on lower variants). The connected car feature UVO also got an update as the company has added several new features.
Apart from these feature upgrades, Kia hasn’t made any other changes for the Seltos. The updated model price increased by 25,000 and now starts at Rs. 9.89 lakh and goes all the way up to Rs. 17.34 lakh (Ex-Showroom). Earlier media reports suggested that Kia is planning to launch a new top of the line variant of Carnival with some new features and it is likely to be launched in the second half of 2020. The Carnival doesn’t have a direct competitor right as the nearest rival is Toyota Vellfire.
