Kia’s sub-4m SUV is expected to be based on the same platform as Hyundai Venue; launch could happen by late 2020
Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) has the Venue as the next big launch in the Indian market. The subcompact SUV will go up against Maruti Vitara Brezza, Tata Nexon, Ford EcoSport and Mahindra XUV300. The Venue has already made its global debut at the 2019 New York Auto Show and on the same day, it was showcased to the Indian media showing the importance of the SUV locally.
Reports suggest that Hyundai is aiming to sell around 8,000 to 9,000 units of the Venue in its first year. It will definitely target the top two position in the segment in terms of sales. Hyundai’s sister brand Kia is also debuting in India in the second half of this year with the SP2i premium SUV and it will rival Hyundai Creta, Tata Harrier and Nissan Kicks.
It is expected to be priced aggressively due to high localisation. Kia plans to launch one new product every six months till 2022 and we can expect most of them to be locally manufactured at the brand’s Anantapur plant In Andhra Pradesh. As Kia aspires high volumes in the coming years, it could enter the subcompact SUV segment as well.
Rumours regarding a small SUV from Kia have come and gone in recent months and we can expect it to be based on the same architecture as the Hyundai Venue which has advanced high strength steel construction. In our rendering, we have shown you how your five-seater may look like when it goes on sale in the coming years.
The Kia sub-four-metre SUV has the same athletic stance as the Venue while the cascading front grille has been replaced by the Korean company’s Tiger Nose grille and the esprit headlamp setup with turn indicators on top and the projector headlamps in the middle surrounded by LED Daytime Running Lights have been carried forward in the rendering and we must say the design cues are rather fitting to Kia’s version as well.
The tall pillars, machined alloy wheels, horizontal LED tail lamps, shark fin antenna and edgy side panels could be borrowed from the Venue. Several interior parts could be shared with the Venue to keep the production costs in check. As for the powertrain, Kia might opt to use the same 1.0-litre turbo petrol, 1.2-litre petrol and 1.4-litre diesel from the Venue with manual and automatic transmission choices.