Made in India: Kia Sonet drives in into India with special price starting at Rs 6.71 lakh

NE BUSINESS BUREAU

AHMEDABAD, SEPT 18

Kia Motors India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kia Motors Corporation, on Friday launched its first-ever compact SUV at a competitive price of Rs 6,71,000 (ex-showroom, pan-India), a company release said.

The made-in-India for the world Kia Sonet is being offered with the widest variety in its category in terms of powertrains and trims. In total, the Sonet is being offered across 17 variants, including two petrol engines, two diesel engines (WGT & VGT configurations), five transmissions, and two trim levels – Tech Line and GT-Line. The Kia Sonet comes with an attractive choice of eight exquisite colours and three dual-tone options that bring its powerful design language to life, the release added.

The Sonet is loaded with a comprehensive list of features as standard as well as offered with the latest in in-car technology via the Kia UVO Connect.

The company also announced the receipt of over 25,000 bookings so far.from the Indian customers. The Sonet is being produced at the company’s state-of-the–art manufacturing unit at Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh with an annual production capacity of 300,000 units, which will allow Kia to smoothly cater to the increasing demand for Sonet by Indian as well as international consumers.

Commenting on the occasion,  Kookhyun Shim, MD and CEO at Kia Motors India said, “Given the enthusiastic reception it has already received, we are extremely excited about introducing Kia’s latest made-in-India car for the world, the Sonet, in India. The aggressive pricing has been arrived at to bring delight and offer incredible value to the young and the young-at-heart customer of the Sonet.

“As our endeavor has been to ensure there is a Sonet for virtually all customers in this category, it is being offered with the widest choice in this segment. With its class-leading features, emotional design, exceptional quality, and latest technology, the Sonet once again brings alive Kia’s commitment of ‘The Power to Surprise.’ We are sure it will revolutionize the compact SUV segment in the country.”

“The launch of the Sonetin India, as we emerge from these trying times, is the result of incredible resilience and hard work of Kia’s Indian and global teams, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. I would also like to acknowledge the efforts of our employees at our state-of-the-art Anantapur plant who are also hard at work to ensure uninterrupted production of the new Sonet, so that it reaches the homes of eager customers all around the country, and later, around the world. It is a testament to Kia’s commitment to develop advanced products with technological prowess and world-class quality born out of India,” he further added.

A perfect combination of innovation and stylish looks, the new Kia Sonet presents a dynamic stance in a confident, compact body. It incorporates Kia’sDNA of emotive styling along with a premium and youthful appeal to create a strong road presence. One of the most anticipated car launches of 2020,the Kia Sonet is being offered in a dual trim concept of Tech Line and the first-in-segment GT-Line with multiple powertrain options to suit virtually all requirements in this segment. The GT-Line specification is for customers who want to give their Sonet a dash of sportiness and racy appeal, inside-out.

Two petrol engines – a versatile Smartstream 1.2-litre four-cylinder and a powerful 1.0 T-GDi (turbocharged petrol direct injection) – are offered along with two efficient 1.5-litre CRDi diesel engine (WGT & VGT configurations). The Sonet comes with five transmission options; this includes five- and six-speed manuals, an intuitive seven-speed DCT, six-speed automatic, and Kia’s revolutionary new six-speed Smartstream intelligent manual transmission (iMT). The latter is a technological breakthrough from Kia, offering fatigue-free driving thanks to the absence of a clutch pedal, yet the same driver control as a conventional manual transmission. For the first time in this segment, the 1.5 CRDi diesel motor is also available with a six-speed automatic transmission.