Kia Motors India recently announced the prices for the all new compact SUV Sonet. The compact SUV competes with the likes of Maruti Brezza, Hyundai Venue, Tata Nexon, Mahindra XUV300 and Ford EcoSport in the segment. Maruti Brezza and Hyundai Venue have been ruling this segment in terms of numbers but, there is significant change this time around. Kia Sonet was launched on 18th of September 2020 and within just 12 days of time, it has outsold both Maruti Brezza and Hyundai Venue. Kia sold a total of 9,226 units of Sonet in September 2020. The Maruti Brezza managed 9,153 units (down by 12 % from September 2019) while the Hyundai Venue did 8,467 units (up by 7 % from September 2019). This actually is a proof how popular the Sonet has become in such a short span of time.
Coming to the other sub-4 meter compact SUVs, the Tata Nexon has done exceptionally well in September 2020, with sales of 6,007 units, a 111 % rise in sales from September 2019. The Mahindra XUV300 clocked 3,700 units (up by 48 %) and the Ford EcoSport did 3,558 units (up by 13 %).
Meanwhile, Kia Motors sold a total of 18,676 units of vehicles last month. This includes 9,079 units of Seltos SUV and 331 units of Carnival luxury MPV. Kia Sonet managed to achieve this number mainly because they had received a lot of bookings even before the launch, and as soon as the prices were announced, customer deliveries commenced. What needs to be seen is that whether Sonet can manage to hold on to the pole position in the coming months.
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On the successful run of Kia Motors in India, Mr. Kookhyun Shim, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Kia Motors India said,
The Indian auto market is recovering at a better-than-expected pace and we are progressing as per our defined plan. Our third product and the first compact SUV in India, the Kia Sonet, has completely transformed its segment. The Sonet embodies Kia’s philosophy of ‘The Power to Surprise’ and that has shown resonance in the marketplace, as seen in the overwhelming response it has received from Indian customers. The sales of our other industry-leading products like Kia Seltos and Carnival are also encouraging, and with this strong product portfolio, we are confident of continuing the positive forward momentum.
The Kia Sonet looks quite good from the outside and has a feature loaded cabin. Apart from the features, it is offered with a variety of engine options. It is available with a 1.0 litre, three cylinder turbo petrol engine. It is available with a 7-speed DCT and iMT gearbox option. The second option is the 1.2 litre naturally aspirated petrol engine that comes with a manual gearbox only. The third is the 1.5 litre turbo diesel engine that is available with a manual and an automatic transmission. Sonet is the first vehicle in the segment to get a proper automatic transmission with diesel variants. Prices for Kia Sonet start at Rs 6.71 lakh and go up to Rs 11.99 lakh, ex-shoroom.