Kia Sonet crosses 100,000 cumulative sales mark in less than one year

Kia India on Tuesday said its compact SUV Sonet has crossed one lakh cumulative sales mark in less than one year of its launch in the market.

During the same period, the vehicle has also become the fourth highest-selling SUV in the country, the automaker said in a statement.

Introduced in September 2020, Sonet has emerged as a breakthrough product in its segment, contributing almost 17 per cent to the segment and 32 per cent to Kia's overall sales, it added.

The Sonet was launched when the auto industry was facing its worst slump in history with the advent of COVID-19 pandemic. The market was battling rock-bottom customer sentiment amidst manufacturing and supply chain setbacks.

We introduced the Sonet in September last year against all odds, and it would not be an understatement to say that it has rewritten Kia's success story in India and has made a stronghold in the segment with its industry-leading features and specifications," Kia India Executive Director and Chief Sales & Business Strategy Officer Tae-Jin Park said.

The one-fourth contribution of the iMT variant in the total sales testifies that the model has also revolutionised the adaption of new technologies, he added.

"The passenger vehicle segment has been witnessing multiple transformations over the years, and as a leading automaker, we are committed to the changing trends and offering new-age driving experience to our customers across segments," Park noted.

Available in 17 variants, Sonet is the only compact SUV to offer a 1.5-litre diesel engine with automatic transmission, contributing almost 10 per cent to its overall sales.

The Sonet customers show high affinity towards the top-of-the-line variants that contributed almost 64 per cent to the overall dispatches, Kia India noted.

The customers also opted for newer automotive technologies wherein almost 30 per cent preferred a connected variant of the model, and 26 per cent opted for the iMT technology, it added.

Kia recently launched the refreshed version of Sonet with ten new enhancements.