8:22 PM
sak
All through last year, there was plenty of buzz about South Korean automaker Kia setting shop in India to sell it’s range of small cars and MPVs. For now, this will not happen as the firm is said to have put it’s plans for an Indian foray on the backburner. And this isn’t the first time that the Hyundai subsidiary, Kia, has done a massive U-turn in it’s Indian plans.
Four years ago, Kia had appointed an international consultant to survey the feasibility of an Indian operation, which it later backtracked from despite a go ahead signal from the consultant. This, once again seems to be the case as Kia has now put all plans of an Indian operation on hold.
This, in a way makes sense as being the budget brand Kia is, selling small cars to rival Hyundai could lead to cannibalization of it’s parent company’s sales. So, Kia’s other way of entering the Indian market was through the premium car segment space and with even Hyundai not enjoying a brand cred in the Indian premium car segment, Kia managing the same would have been an uphill proposition for the firm, which still is known primarily for it’s budget cars. Meanwhile, here’s the official word from Kia.
“Our hands are full right now. Currently we are not looking at India but concentrating on other overseas markets where we aim to produce over 1 million cars this year. We will, however, continue to monitor the Indian market as it holds sizeable potential and may be on our future radar”
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