The Kia Sonet has crossed the 4 lakh sales milestone, which includes the domestic market and exports. The compact SUV has achieved this less than four years since its September 2020 debut.
- Sonet secured 14 percent share in compact SUV segment in Q1 CY2024
- 37 percent buyers opted for the diesel
- 63 percent buyers preferred sunroof-equipped variants
Of the 4 lakh units, 3,17,754 units were sold domestically, while an additional 85,814 units were exported to other markets. Kia says that the Sonet commands a 33.3 percent share of the company’s overall sales in the country, and that petrol and diesel constituted 63 percent and 37 percent, respectively.
Furthermore, Kia claims a consumer shift towards automatic variants: the 7-speed dual-clutch (available with the 1.0-litre turbo-petrol) and the 6-speed torque converter (available with the 1.5-litre diesel) were the choice of 28 percent Kia Sonet buyers. Meanwhile, the iMT (clutchless manual) contributed to 23 percent of the sales. Another trend that was observed is that 63 percent of the buyers preferred a sunroof.
The made-in-India Sonet is sold in many ASEAN, African, Middle Eastern markets, with Kia manufacturing both right- and left-hand drive versions of the compact SUV here. Kia India even manufactured the 7-seater Sonet for Indonesia back in 2021, however, this version was soon discontinued due to poor sales.
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Kia Sonet features, price, rivals
On the feature front, the Kia Sonet comes equipped with a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system, a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, a 4-way powered driver’s seat, auto climate control, ventilated front seats, a wireless phone charger, connected tech, six airbags, ESC, TPMS as well as ADAS safety tech like lane-keep assist, blind spot monitoring and forward collision warning.
The Sonet is currently priced between Rs 7.99 lakh-15.75 lakh (ex-showroom). In the highly competitive compact SUV segment that includes the Tata Nexon, Hyundai Venue, Maruti Brezza, and Mahindra XUV300, the Kia Sonet registered a 14 percent market share in Q1 CY2024.
Dipan Sur
Viraaj Bhatnagar
Suraj Viswanathan
Hormazd Sorabjee
