Compared to 4,645 units of the Kia Seltos sold in December 2019, the Hyundai Creta, which is the erstwhile segment leader, could manage a total sale of 6,713 units in the same month
Back in August 2019, Kia Motor India commenced its innings with the launch of the Seltos in the Indian car market. The new offering was quick to displace the Hyundai Creta from the top of the sales charts and enjoyed a lead over its cousin for a few months before it was finally outclassed by the sibling last month.
A cut in production at Kia’s Andhra Pradesh-based facility lead to a reduced dealer dispatch of the Seltos. Last month, only 4,465 units were shipped to the dealerships, which is a pretty huge drop from 14,005 units delivered in November 2019. The Hyundai Creta, however, could overtake the new offering with a monthly sale of 6,713 units last month.
While the Hyundai Creta could again face the heat from Kia Seltos in the January 2020 sales, what’s worth noting here is that the Hyundai model, which is close to approaching the end of its lifecycle, still enjoys a decent demand in the market. A reason for this could be the fact that Hyundai has been offering some attractive discounts to make the most of the current generation of the SUV.
The current model will be very soon replaced by an all-new version that will debut at the Auto Expo 2020. The new-gen Hyundai Creta will look almost exactly like the second-gen ix25 that is being sold abroad. In India, the new model will share the engine options with the Seltos and would be underpinned by the same platform that forms the base of Kia’s first-ever product in the country
On the other hand, the Kia Seltos is close to getting a price hike. So far, the SUV has been on sale in a price range of Rs 9.69-16.99 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi), which were introductory prices. However, soon, the company will announce a revised price list that will make the Seltos a bit more expensive than before.
In another development, the Kia Seltos has bagged a full 5-star rating in the crash test conducted by ANCAP. The great crash test performance goes on to hint at the robust build quality of the new SUV. The Kia Seltos has been on sale in three engine variants- 1.5-litre petrol, 1.5-litre turbo-diesel and 1.4-litre turbo-petrol. All these motors are available with both manual and automatic transmission choices.