The Kia Sonet has been priced in India between Rs 6.71 lakh and Rs 11.99 lakh (ex-showroom), which means that the Nepal-spec model is about 3 times costlier
Kia Motors entered the Indian market in August last year with the Seltos SUV, and now, the carmaker has launched its third product for the country, i.e. Sonet. The Sonet puts up in one of the fiercest segments in the Indian market, but the sub-4m SUV surely packs what it takes to be one of the best-sellers.
Kia has full faith in its new offering, and the Korean carmaker plans to export the Sonet to about 70 different countries across the entire world. One of the first countries to receive the car apart from India is none other than our neighbour, Nepal. It should be noted that the Sonet is exclusively produced in India at Kia’s Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh plant, and will be exported to Nepal.
While the Sonet has been introduced in India with 15 different variants to choose from, the Nepali market only gets a choice of 4 variants, namely HTE, HTX, HTK+ and the range-topping GTX+. The HTE trim will only be available with the 1.2-litre petrol engine, while the rest three will be offered with the 1.5-litre oil burner. The 1.0-litre TGDi turbo petrol powertrain is not being offered with the Sonet in Nepal.
However, the most shocking aspect of the Nepal-bound Sonet is its pricing. Take a look at the variant-wise price of the Kia Sonet in Nepal, and how much it translates in INR in the table given below –
| Kia Sonet Variant | Price in Nepal | Price Converted to INR |
| HTE 1.2 Petrol 5MT | NPR 35.90 lakh | Rs 22.51 lakh |
| HTX 1.5 Diesel 6MT | NPR 47.80 lakh | Rs 29.94 lakh |
| HTK+ 1.5 Diesel 6AT | NPR 49.90 lakh | Rs 31.25 lakh |
| GTX+ 1.5 Diesel 6MT | NPR 57.90 lakh | Rs 36.26 lakh |
In the Indian market, the Sonet HTE 1.2 Petrol 5MT is priced at Rs 6.71 lakh, HTX 1.5 Diesel 6MT at Rs 9.99 lakh, HTK+ 1.5 Diesel 6AT at Rs 10.39 lakh and GTX+ 1.5 Diesel 6MT is sold at Rs 11.99 lakh (all prices, ex-showroom). This means that the Nepalese-spec Sonet costs about 3 times what the car costs here in India!
Credit goes to the Nepalese government for imposing such high import duties on cars. The country charges its residents a range of taxes on imported passenger cars, including customs, excise, road tax, VAT, etc, which in total amount to around 250 per cent.