Kia Motors to roll out Seltos from Anantpur plant on July 31, more details inside

South Korean auto major Kia Motors is all set to roll out its first made in India mid-SUV, Kia Seltos, from its plant located in Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh on July 31, according to company sources. “Kia Motors will roll out the first car from its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Anantapur, in the state of Andhra Pradesh on July 31. With this, the company will begin the mass production of the Kia Seltos for the Indian market,” sources told PTI.

Earlier in January, the world’s eighth largest automaker, began the trial production of Kia Seltos, and within six months the final product is ready. The Kia Seltos has already seen more than 6000 pre-bookings in a day, they added.

The 536 acre-Anantapur facility is capable of an annual production capacity of up to 300,000 units, boosting Kia’s global manufacturing capability, the automaker said. The ceremony at the Anantapur plant, is expected to witness the presence of Kia Motors India leadership- Kookhyun Shim, Managing Director and CEO of Kia Motors along with other officials.

The pre-bookings for the much-awaited SUV commenced online as well as on its 206 sales points in the country from July 16. The model, upon launch will be available in two trims GT line, which is suitable for the performance enthusiasts, and Tech line, aimed at families.

The Seltos will be BS-VI compliant right from its launch. It will come in three variants 1.5 petrol, 1.5 diesel, 1.4 turbo petrol mated with both manual and automatic transmissions. A senior official of Kia Motors Corporation had earlier said the Anantapur plant will manufacture four new models, including the Seltos, in the next two years.

Overall, Kia has invested USD 2 billion in India, including USD 1.1 billion at the plant which has a capacity of 3 lakh units annually. The mid-SUV will be launched in India on the August 22 and the bookings are currently being accepted for a token amount of Rs 25,000, a company press release had earlier said.

On July 16, South Korean automaker Kia reported that they have received over 6,000 bookings for its upcoming SUV Seltos on the first day of pre-booking process. The automaker said it received a record 6,046 bookings for the upcoming model on July 16, the first day of pre-booking process.  The company said it received 1,628 bookings from online process and rest from its dealerships across 160 cities.

“It is a remarkable feat and is a testament to Kia’s unparalleled and extraordinary brand recognition and acceptability in India that our brand campaign has help us achieve,” Kia Motors India Vice President, and Head - Sales & Marketing Manohar Bhat said in a statement.

(With inputs from PTI )