Kia at the 2020 Auto Expo- a recap

Intro

The 2020 Auto Expo seems like such a long time ago given how our world has changed in the last three years and this feels even more so now that we are just about a month away from the 2023 Auto Expo.

To lead you into India’s bi-annual (now tri apparently) festival of cars, here is, a series of recaps of what each manufacturer brought to the 2020 Auto Expo, what’s been launched since then, and what’s still pending from the exhibition floor.

We begin with Kia. 2020 was their second expo and riding high on the success of the made-for-India Seltos, the South Korean Automaker showcased two major products and launched one.

Sonet

The success of the Seltos in less than half a year had marked Kia’s place in our automotive circuit and its next product turned out to be just as much of a success as the Seltos. The Kia Sonet was finally launched in India on September 18, 2020, with two petrol engines, one diesel engine, six trim levels, and 11 colour options. 

In 2021, it got a planned upgrade in the form of the Sonet X Line. We have, of course, driven the Sonet extensively, with it even being in our long-term garage for close to a year. 

Seltos X Line

Kia’s golden child for India got its first planned upgrade in the form of the Seltos X Line. It’s available in both petrol and diesel automatic trims, with the main highlight being the matte grey paint scheme and 18-inch alloy wheels with a model-specific pattern. What’s more, is that the success of the Kia Seltos X Line even inspired them to bring out a Kia Sonet X Line. Lastly, we have also looked at the Seltos X Line against its biggest competitor, the Skoda Kushaq Monte Carlo. 

Carnival

While the Sonet and Seltos dominated the budget end of things, the Carnival took Kia’s fight to the premium segment and, more specifically, the Toyota Innova. At that time, Kia launched the Carnival at Rs 24.95 lakh across three variants and three colour options. Given how the Innova has got a major upgrade, we’re expecting that Kia will showcase the new Carnival at the 2023 Auto Expo.

International models

The local pages were headlined with the Sonet, Seltos, and Carnival while on the international front, Kia showcased its Xceed and Stonic crossovers, along with its Soul and Niro EVs.