The Seltos is selling like hot cakes, and the compact SUV clocked a whopping 12,850 units in October 2019 – its highest sales yet in India. Launched on the 22nd of August, 2019, the Kia Seltos is now un-disputedly India’s best selling compact SUV, beating the previous best seller – the Hyundai Creta. The Seltos’ October sales could actually make it India’s best selling SUV, ahead of the likes of the Hyundai Venue and the Maruti Brezza, and we’ll soon know the exact picture once more sales numbers start trickling in. The Seltos’ highly impressive performance has catapulted Kia Motors to fifth place in the Indian market, ahead of the likes of Honda and Toyota. This is really a big deal considering the fact that Honda and Toyota have been in India for a couple of decades whereas Kia Motors’ Indian operation is just 3 months old.
While Kia Motors sold 12,850 units of the Seltos in October 2019, Honda managed only 10,010 units from its entire portfolio of cars in the same month and Toyota clocked 11,866 units from its product range. In fact, Renault is now in the 7th place, with 11,500 units (thanks to strong Kwid and Triber sales), and Honda has been pushed back to 8th place. Notably, Kia Motors is just a few hundred unit sales behind Tata Motors, which has managed to stay in 4th place, with sales of 13,169 units in October 2019. Upcoming car launches from Kia Motors – the Carnival luxury MPV in early 2020 and the sub-4 meter compact SUV that will share its platform with the Hyundai Venue – is likely to push the South Korean automaker to fourth or probably even the 3rd place by the end of next year. If this happens, Kia Motors will be India’s fastest growing automaker in many, many years.
The Kia Seltos is available in a wide range of variants and engine options. The entry level version uses a 1.5 liter-4 cylinder naturally aspirated petrol motor with 113 Bhp-142 Nm outputs. This engine is offered with 6 speed manual and CVT automatic gearbox options. There is one more petrol engine on offer in higher variants – a 1.4 liter turbocharged motor with 138 Bhp-242 Nm. The turbo petrol engine gets 6 speed manual and 7 speed twin clutch automatic gearbox options. The diesel engine is a 1.5 liter-4 cylinder turbocharged unit with 115 Bhp-250 Nm on tap. 6 speed manual and torque converter automatic gearboxes are on offer with the diesel engine. All three engines are Bharat Stage 6 (BS6) emission norms compliant, and drive the front wheels of the SUV. Kia Motors does offer an all wheel drive option with the Seltos internationally but has no plans to do so in India owing to poor demand for such a variant. Prices of the Seltos start from Rs. 9.69 lakhs, ex-showroom Delhi.
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