No new launches in 2023; Kia India to consolidate gains: VP Hardeep Singh

Kia India will not launch any new vehicles in 2023 as it wants to consolidate its gains during the year after launching two products in the last year, said its Vice-President and Head of Marketing and Sales Hardeep Singh Brar on Wednesday.

The South Korean carmaker has launched five new cars in the last three years. It sold 254,556 units in India in 2022 as compared to 181,583 units in 2021. 

"In 2022, we grew at about 40 per cent plus but the Indian auto industry saw a growth of 23 per cent. This year, we expect the industry's growth to be about 4-5 per cent because of headwinds such as inflation, interest rate movements, and slowdown in the global market," Brar told Business Standard in an interview on the sidelines of Auto Expo 2023.

He said Kia India will be able to post at least double the growth to that of the Indian auto industry in 2023.

The production of Kia India, which sells sport utility vehicle (SUV) brands such as Sonet and Seltos, was not affected by semiconductor chip shortage as much as many of its competitors during the last year.

"I think we were able to manage things better than the others. Our plan was 250,000 unit sales for the domestic market and we did it. On top of it, we exported 80,000 units," he mentioned. 

Kia's manufacturing plant in Andhra Pradesh has a production capacity of about 300,000 units per year. 

"We are doing a lot of improvements in our existing plant such as increasing automation and line speed," he said, adding that these improvements will boost the production capacity by up to 20 per cent.

Kia India is not looking for any launches in 2023, Brar said. "In fact, we want to consolidate. In the last three years, we have launched five products, which is probably the highest by any manufacturer," he added.

"Last year, we launched Carens and EV6. So, we want to give more time to the existing products than looking at launching products every year so that we can consolidate these products. From a long-term standpoint, we are investing in electric vehicle technology," he said.

The company showcased a police van and an ambulance based on its model Carens at Auto Expo 2023. Kia India also unveiled an all-electric SUV Concept – the Kia Concept EV9 and Kia KA4, on Wednesday.