Of the Korean automaker’s global sales of 3.08 million units including 638,000 electrified vehicles, the Indian operations accounted for 245,000 units and a 7.93% share, a shade under the 8.25% share in CY2023. With the recent rollout of the Syros compact SUV, Kia India will be hoping to increase its contribution to Kia Corp in CY2025.
25 Jan 2025 | 2476 Views | By Ajit Dalvi
Kia Corporation has announced its CY2024 annual business results, highlighting a strong performance amid uncertain global market conditions. The Korean automaker registered total global sales of 3,089,300 units in CY2024, a 0.1% increase year on year.
In CY2024, Kia sold a total of 638,000 electrified vehicles, a 10.9% YoY ...
This is an Autocar Pro Plus article. Subscribe to continue reading.
Kia Corporation has announced its CY2024 annual business results, highlighting a strong performance amid uncertain global market conditions. The Korean automaker registered total global sales of 3,089,300 units in CY2024, a 0.1% increase year on year.
In CY2024, Kia sold a total of 638,000 electrified vehicles, a 10.9% YoY increase. Kia’s electrified models accounted for 21.4% of its total sales, a 2.3 percentage point increase from a year earlier. This increase was driven by strong demand for hybrid vehicles, with sales of 367,000 units, up 20% YoY. The company’s EV sales also increased 10.2% to 201,000 units.
In 2025, Kia plans to continue to react flexibly to the growing demand for electrified vehicles in North America and Europe by expanding the sales of its HEV and EV models while entering new segments in the Korean and Indian markets. This year, Kia will launch its new Tasman pickup truck, PV5 PBV model and will soon announce the pricing for the Syros compact SUV, a strategic vehicle for the Indian market. The company will also establish a full lineup of EV models through the global rollout of the the EV4 and EV5.
INDIA AS A KEY GROWTH MARKET FOR KIA CORP
Kia India, which kicked off sales in August 2019 as a virtually unknown brand in the domestic market at the time, has in CY2024 maintained its 8% contribution to global sales.
In CY2024, Kia India, which sold 245,000 units, contributed 7.93% to Kia Corporation’s global sales of 3.08 million units, slightly down on the 8.25% it had accounted for in CY2023. Since its market entry in August 2019 with a single product, Kia India is now a formidable player in India’s passenger vehicle market with its products – the Seltos midsize SUV, Sonet compact SUV, Carens MPVs and the EV6 electric crossover.
In CY2024, the company sold 245,000 units, down 4% YoY (CY2023: 255,000 units). In CY2024, three Kia models are among the Top 25 best-selling SUVs and MPVs. The Sonet (106,690 units) was ranked 11th, the Seltos (73,745 units) at No. 17 and the Carens (63,674 units) at No. 18.
In the current fiscal’s April-December 2024 period, Kia India has dispatched 179,631 utility vehicles (see model-wise split below) to its dealer showrooms across the country, which gives it an 8.76% share of the total 20,48,720 UV sold in India (up 12.6% YoY). The Sonet compact SUV, with 77,308 units, is its best-selling product followed by the Seltos midsize SUV (53,177 units), Carens MPV (48,257 units), new Carnival MPV (599 units) and the EV6 (290 units).
Kia India has recently expanded its portfolio with the launch of the Syros compact SUV, whose pricing is to be announced on February 1. The sub-four-metre Syros, which is slotted above the Sonet, aims to disrupt the compact-SUV segment that includes rivals of the likes of the Tata Nexon, Hyundai Venue, and Maruti Suzuki Brezza. The Syros is expected to give a fresh charge to Kia India and enable to grow its UV market share.
Following the start of bookings on January 3, the Kia Syros has received 10,258 bookings till January 16, across variants and powertrain combinations. Deliveries of the Syros, which received its first public viewing at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo held earlier this month, will start shortly after February 1 when the company will announce the compact SUV’s pricing.
The booming compact SUV segment has been the key driver of the accelerated growth of the SUV market in India and is also an ultra-competitive segment with a host of high-selling models. Of the total 2.74 million utility vehicles sold in CY2024, the Top 25 models with cumulative wholesales of 25,21,160 units accounted for an overwhelming 91% share. Compact SUVs continued to win over UV buyers with a 48% share of the best-selling models, followed by midsize SUVs (36%) and MPVs (16%).
In CY2025, Kia is targeting global sales of 3.22 million units. With demand in global markets, particularly the US in the wake of new tariffs on imported models, expected to be uncertain this year, Kia Corp will be banking on its Kia India to deliver the goods in the world’s third largest automobile market. And the new Syros is expected to play a key role in that gameplan.
ALSO READ: Kia India plots six new models by 2027
Hyundai Motor India share of global sales at highest level in CY2024: 14.61%