Kia Plans To Begin Third Shift At Its Anantapur Plant Soon

Kia India is preparing to launch its new model, the Kia Carens MPV, and it will be the brand's fourth model in our market after the Seltos, Carnival and the Sonet. The South Korean automaker is likely to announce prices of the Carens by the first quarter of 2022, possibly in February. Moreover, the company is gearing up to ramp up production and will begin a third shift at its Anantapur plant soon to meet the growing demand.

Also Read: Kia Evaluating Plan To See If It Needs To Switch To Sourcing Chips From India​

The Kia Carens MPV will be launched in India by early 2022

Like other carmakers, Kia is also facing supply constraints that are majorly affected by the ongoing semiconductor chip shortage. The carmaker is currently sourcing its semiconductor to India from the global market to match up with the demand. However, Kia is planning to source semiconductors from India in the future.

On the sidelines of the Carens' global debut, Tae-Jin Park, Managing Director and CEO, Kia India gave insight into the company's EV plans for India. He said, "There are two different kinds of approach - one is top-down, and the other one is bottom-up, that is volume cars. For example, Tata, with local productions, started with volume cars, in the case of EVs. But we are very carefully looking at which is the best option for us, by comparing to what kind of EV models we have, and which kind of leads we'll get from the EV market in India. Combining them together, we are very carefully looking at which model should we start with. So, whether it be top-down or bottom-up will depend on the market situation."

Currently, Kia has three models in its product portfolio, and all of them are produced at its Anantapur facility in Andhra Pradesh. As of now, the company retails about 14,000 units each month. In November 2021, Kia sold 14,214 units of which 8,859 units were the Seltos, 4,719 units were the Sonet, and the remaining 636 units were the Carnival MPV.