Kia India eyes 10% growth in sales volume next year: MD & CEO Tae-Jin Park

Kia India anticipates a 10 per cent growth in volume sales in 2024 with the deliveries of facelift launches of Sonet and Seltos gaining momentum, its Managing Director and CEO Tae-Jin Park said on Thursday.

Park, however, anticipates the overall domestic passenger vehicle (PV) sales in the industry to stay "flat" in 2024, as demand primarily exists for sport utility vehicles (SUVs).

"I think SUVs, especially the micro SUVs, would be generating new volumes in the market in 2024. The passenger vehicle sales will continue to slow down and it will maintain the same level as 2023," Park said.

Kia unveiled its Sonet facelift on Thursday. The company sold 254,556 units in India last year and it is expecting to sell the same number of units this year too. The South Korean carmaker unveiled the Seltos facelift in July this year.

"The customers already know that the old model is going out, and a new (facelift) model is coming....That has impacted our sales this year. Next year, we will be selling new Seltos and new Sonet....We have a little bit aggressive target for the next year at 10 per cent as compared to this year," Park reporters on the sidelines of Sonet facelift's unveiling.

Kia only sells utility vehicles in India. Kia's dealers currently have an advance stock for 30-35 days and the company is comfortable with it as the year is ending, he said, adding the company aims to have a 10 per cent market share by 2030. Currently, the company's market share in India is about 5.5 per cent.

Kia India is planning to launch a total of 5 vehicles in the next two years. "Next year, a new Carnival is coming, EV9 (an electric vehicle) is coming. In the next year, we are very carefully preparing for the big jump over the second stage of growth for Kia India that will begin in 2025," Park noted. 

"The company is targeting to gather 15-17 per cent of that EV market by 2030. We are preparing a hybrid and in the next two years, we can bring it anytime here...There is a high possibility of the disappearing of diesel vehicles here," he said. When asked if he sees the diesel-run vehicles completely phase out by 2030, he said that it depends on government policy.