The Seltos, Kia’s first made-in-India vehicle, has driven past 700,000 cumulative sales in the domestic market. Launched on August 22, 2019, the Seltos continues to spearhead Kia’s growth story in India. Between August 2019 and October 2026, the Seltos has clocked domestic market sales of 704,829 units, which gives the midsize SUV a 36 percent share of the 1.68 million UVs Kia sold in India till October 2026. The Seltos is also Kia India’s No. 1 export model with over 160,000 units shipped to overseas markets.
- Seltos is Kia’s highest-selling domestic as well as export model
- Second-gen Seltos has already crossed 1 lakh sales in 10 months
- Ranks fourth in midsize SUV category after Scorpio, Creta and Victoris
Fittingly enough, the Seltos drove past the 700,000 milestone in October 2026, which delivered Kia India’s highest monthly dispatches of 33,462 units. This is the Seltos’ second-highest monthly sales after clocking 15,000 units in January 2020, five months after launch. While the Sonet, Kia’s second best-selling model, is 110,000-odd units behind the Seltos in domestic market wholesales, the Carens MPV has sold 331,186 units.
Seltos helped make Kia a household name in India
The Seltos can be credited with making a relatively unknown Korean brand in India a household name. In its very first month of sale (August 2019: 6,236 units), the Seltos debuted in the India Top 5 UVs list and also outsold the Seltos sold in Korea by 127 units. Seltos’ sales in the last eight months of FY2020 were 81,717 units and helped Kia cement itself in the Top 5 passenger vehicle OEMs.
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the Seltos maintained its sales momentum in both FY2021 (89,173 units) and FY2022 (95,929 units) and then crossed the 100,000 milestone for the first time in FY2023 (100,132 units). However, increased midsize SUV competition after FY2023 slowed down sales. FY2024’s 100,423 units were just 291 units more than in FY2023. In FY2025, Seltos sales fell by 27 percent to 72,618 units albeit demand rose by 5 percent in FY2026 (83,747 units), helped by strong growth in Q4 (January-March 2026) with the launch of the second-generation Seltos.
Second-gen Seltos: Fourth-ranked midsize SUV in FY2027
What community is saying on the Seltos?
The second-gen Seltos has brought about a strong revival in demand for the midsize SUV. Kia is benefiting from the replacement demand from first-gen Seltos owners, while also attracting buyers from even a segment above as well as those keen on upgrading from compact SUVs.
In this calendar year to date, Kia India’s best-selling product has clocked sales of 113,078 units, up 87 percent YoY (January-October 2025: 60,526 units). In fact, the last 100,000 Seltos SUVs have been sold in just nine months – 102,439 units between February and October 2026.
The 10,639 units in the opening month of CY2026 saw the Seltos achieve five-figure sales after a gap of 25 months (November 2023: 11,684 units). Since then, barring June 2026. (9,654 units), the Seltos has comfortably crossed 10,000 units every month.
The Seltos has been a key contributor to the strong growth of the midsize SUV market. It sits in a segment which has over 20 models, including eight EVs and some hybrids, and is currently ranked fourth with wholesales of 81,090 units in the January-October period. This segment is led by the Mahindra Scorpio (112,841 units), Hyundai Creta (107,682 units), and the Maruti Victoris (88,804 units) after the first seven months of FY2027.
Kia to surpass 300,000 annual sales in November 2026
In the first 10 months of this year, Kia India has sold 286,470 units which marks 21 percent YoY increase (January-October 2025: 236,138 units) and has surpassed its previous highest annual sales of 280,286 units in CY2025.
With just 13,530 units left to go to hit 300,000 annual sales this year, Kia India will achieve this new milestone for the first time this month (November 2026). With the new second-gen Seltos firing on all cylinders and the new Sorento three-row midsize SUV clocking 4,242 units in the August-October period, Kia India could even close in on the 350,000 mark.
Uday Singh
Viraaj Bhatnagar
Dipan Sur
Saptarshi Mondal
Suraj Viswanathan
