Kia likely to set up new production base in Andhra Pradesh

Kia Motors Corporation, a sister company of Hyundai, is likely to set up a production base in Sri City in Andhra Pradesh. The capacity is believed to be around 200,000 units annually.

The manufacturer is likely to bring the Picanto hatchback and/or the Sportage crossover to India. Talking to our sister publication Autocar Professional, Michael Choo, general manager, Overseas PR Team, Kia Motors Corporation, said: “We are continually evaluating potential locations for overseas manufacturing facilities, including India, to secure additional engines for future growth. However, as of now, no concrete plans have been finalised.”

The new Picanto, which was shown at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, is a five-door, A-segment hatchback, with an all-steel unitary construction bodyshell. It has a choice of three transversely mounted engines that drive the front wheels via the choice of a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission. For other markets, excluding Europe, it gets two petrol engines: a 998cc, 68bhp, three-cylinder motor, and a 1,248cc, 85.7bhp, four-cylinder unit. The hatchback's measures 3,595mm in length, 1,595mm in width (excluding door mirrors), 1,490mm in height, and gets a wheelbase of 2,385mm wheelbase and ground clearance of 152mm.

The all-new Kia Sportage, now in its fourth-generation, made its debut at the Frankfurt motor show last year. It features an attractive, all-new interior and exterior design, as well as a host of advanced technology features. It is slated to go on sale in overseas markets during the first quarter of 2016.

The most significant change to the Sportage is the increase of 30mm in its wheelbase which is now at 2,670mm. The vehicle is now 40mm longer, at 4,480mm, with the front overhang expanding to 910mm ( an increase of 20 mm) and the rear overhang shrinking slightly to 900mm ( less by 10 mm). The latest model remains at the same height (1,635mm) and width (1855mm) as the outgoing Sportage.

Passenger space is increased, with headroom now at 997mm and 993mm for front and rear passengers respectively. Legroom has also expanded to 1,129mm ( increased by 19mm) and 970mm ( increased by 7mm). The third-generation Sportage sold over 1.6 million units worldwide between 2010 and 2015.

Global sales up 3.6 percent in January

Kia Motors Corporation announced its January 2016 global sales figures (export sales, domestic sales and sales from overseas plants) for passenger cars, recreational vehicles, and commercial vehicles, recording a total sales of 2,04,662 units. This figure represents a decrease of 3.6 percent year-on-year.

In January 2016, Kia posted year-on-year increase in sales in the domestic Korea market (4.6 percent growth with 38,505 units sold) and Europe (2.3 percent growth with 38,446 units sold), while China, general markets and North America experienced year-on-year decline of 13.2 percent (50,361 units sold), 6.6 percent (35,444 units sold) and 0.2 percent (41,906 units sold) respectively.

Kia's bestselling model in overseas markets in January 2016 was the Sportage compact CUV with 36,989 units sold. The B-segment Rio (known as 'K2' in China) was the second bestseller with 30,222 units sold, while the C-segment Cerato (known as 'Forte' or 'K3' in some markets), Optima D-segment sedan and Soul urban crossover followed with 23,947, 16,696 and 12,186 units respectively.