Kia Sonet has contributed to 33.3 per cent of total sales from the brand in less than 44 months since its market debut
Kia India has today announced that the Sonet has gone past the four lakh sales milestone in India in less than 44 months since its market debut. It is one of the major contributors to the South Korean auto major’s local sales volumes and is also exported to several global markets. It commands one-third of the total sales share for Kia (domestic and exports combined).
In the local market, Kia has sold 3,17,754 units of the Sonet compact SUV while 85,814 units were shipped abroad from the production facility in Andhra Pradesh. The sub-four-metre SUV was the third model introduced by the brand in India back in September 2020, following the Seltos midsize SUV and Carnival premium MPV and it quickly rose to fame. It holds a 14 per cent share in the competitive compact SUV segment in Q1 CY 2024.
Over the course of 44 months since its debut, 63 per cent of Kia Sonet purchasers have selected models that come with a sunroof. As for engine preferences, 37 per cent of customers have selected the 1.5L diesel engine while 63 per cent have opted for the petrol engine options. Kia has noticed a growing preference among customers for automatic variants of the Sonet as well.
The seven-speed dual-clutch transmission has seen a 37.50 per cent increase in popularity since 2020. In terms of overall transmission choices, automatic variants (DCT and six-speed auto) have accounted for 28 per cent of Sonet sales while the intelligent manual transmission (iMT) holds a consistent 23 per cent share in total sales according to the brand.
Speaking on the new sales milestone of Kia Sonet, Myung-sik Sohn, Chief Sales Officer, Kia India, commented, “The compact SUV segment presents a big opportunity, with many first-time buyers entering the segment directly. Sonet is our second-best innovation, and it has captured their imagination perfectly. It offers them a futuristic, tech-enabled, comfortable mobility solution designed very well and with low ownership costs.”
Recently, Kia introduced four new HTE (O) and HTK (O) variants of the Sonet in diesel and petrol engine choices to strengthen its portfolio. While the HTE (O) gets a sunroof, HTK (O) comes with a sunroof along with LED connected tail lamps, automatic temperature control and a rear defogger. It averages over 9,000 unit sales every month and the facelifted version was launched in January 2024 with ADAS and 70 in-car connected features.