This week in Auto: Kia Sonet – the disruptor, Toyota’s flip-flop, Volkswagen’s India EV plan, and more

It is not every day that a new entrant disrupts the entire market forcing every stakeholder to sit up a take notice. In just one year Korea’s Kia Motors has done what competition has struggled to achieve in more than a decade. With the launch of another disruptor, all eyes are on the company again. More on this later, but first, here is a look at what else made headlines during the week in the auto space.

Toyota to invest Rs 2,000 crore in India

Toyota Kirloskar will invest Rs 2,000 crore in developing vehicle technology and electric components in India, a top official said hours after a news article claimed the carmaker was bringing all new investments in the country to a halt.

Ashok Leyland launches Bada Dost

Ashok Leyland has launched Bada Dost, a single cab, light truck developed on a completely new platform to take on the segment leader Mahindra Bolero pick-up.

With a starting price of Rs 7.75 lakh (i3 LS), the Bada Dost is positioned at a segment above the regular Dost light truck, which was developed by the joint venture between Ashok Leyland and Nissan.

Auto sales become the prime focus

If one goes by the commentary from auto companies, vehicle sales in September will be higher than August.

That is an unusual occurrence for this time of year, which includes Shraadh, the 16-day lunar period considered inauspicious by many. People generally avoid making major purchases during this period.

Volkswagen won’t launch EVs in India

German giant Volkswagen feels the Indian market is not mature enough for EVs at this stage, given the premium pricing of such vehicles and the lack of charging infrastructure in the country.

At a global press conference organised on Thursday in Germany to discuss the way forward for VW in e-mobility, Ralf Brandstätter, Chief Executive Officer, Volkswagen Brand, said the company would keep an eye on markets like India for EV opportunities in the future

Kia launches Sonet

Kia Motors has finally launched their most awaited compact SUV, the Sonet in India at a starting price of Rs. 6.71 lakh.

Despite the compact SUV segment being fairly overcrowded in India the Kia Sonet packs in features that make it a definite competitor.

Kia Motors has ambitious targets from India

Basis just one model Kia Motor has grabbed 5 percent share of the Indian passenger vehicle market; something that Nissan and Volkswagen have been targeting since their entries more than a decade ago. In short, Kia managed to do in one year what VW and Nissan could not do in ten.

In some months Kia even broke into the league of top five car brands of India selling just the Seltos mid-size sports utility vehicle (SUV). The fight to the top became so intense that the Seltos was giving the twin sister Hyundai Creta a run for its money. This was just before the Creta was a generation upgrade in March.

Now with the launch of the Sonet, a compact SUV, Kia has set an ambitious target once again. The disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic notwithstanding Kia has set a target of 100,000 units sales over the next 12 months in the domestic market and a further 50,000 units sales in the export market.

More than a quarter of those sales could have been readily secured given that more than 25,000 bookings have been received for the Sonet so far. This is even as though no one had any idea of the SUV’s pricing. To reduce the waiting period Kia has started a second shift at its 300,000 units a year capacity Andhra Pradesh plant.

The company is confident of achieving the sales target of the Sonet given the effort gone behind it. At Rs 6.71 lakh the Sonet is the cheapest car in its category. The car comes with more than 30 ‘segment-best’ features including Bose entertainment system and the biggest touchscreen system found within the segment.