Kia Reaches One Million Unit Sales Milestone in India

The brand reached this milestone five years after starting operations in India and has also exported 258,339 units.

Kia India has surpassed the milestone of one million units in wholesale sales in the domestic market. The Korean carmaker reached this milestone in June 2024. From August 2019 to July 2024, the company's total sales reached 1,023,515 units.

Kia India started selling its models in August 2019 and has taken just under six years to sell a million units wholesale. The company reached 600,000 units in November 2022 and quickly surpassed 700,000 units just five months later in April 2023. It took 13 months to go from 700,000 to a million units (10 lakh).

Model-wise contribution

Kia India currently sells four models in India: the Seltos, Sonet, EV6, and Carens. The Seltos was the first model launched in August 2019 and remains the best-selling model, with total sales of 492,497 units, making up 48% of the company's total sales as of August 2024. Following the Seltos, the Sonet is the next best-seller, with 347,670 units sold, accounting for 34% of Kia's sales.

Data shows that the Sonet has outsold the Seltos for seven months in a row in 2024. From January to July 2024, the Sonet sold 63,991 units, which is 40% more than the Seltos, which sold 45,691 units during the same period.

Launched on February 15, 2022, the Carens is the third biggest contributor to Kia India’s sales, with 167,650 units sold in 29 months. It makes up 16% of the company’s sales. Kia’s first electric vehicle (EV) in India, the EV6, was introduced in June 2022 as a completely built unit (CBU). According to SIAM and Kia India data, the EV6 has sold a total of 1,156 units. The EV6 will be joined by the all-electric EV9 SUV later this year. Kia's strategy with EVs in India involves placing the new EV9 and EV6 at the high end of the EV market, while a new, made-in-India mass-market EV will be launched in 2025.

Kia India exports and future launches

Kia India produced its one-millionth made-in-India car on July 13, 2023. Since then, the company has manufactured another 63,507 units, bringing the total production to 1.26 million units. In addition to selling one million units in the domestic market, Kia India has exported 258,339 units overseas.

Since entering the market, Kia India has expanded its dealership network to 5,885 locations in 265 cities. The company has announced that it will launch two global models in India—the EV9 and the new Carnival MPV—in the second half of this year. The Carnival will initially be fully imported, with local assembly starting later.