Emerging almost unscathed from the Covid impact, automobile major Kia Motors India sees the pent-up demand becoming more sustained and predictable now, which is expected to drive growth. In a conversation with IANS, the company’s Vice President and Head Sales and Marketing Manohar Bhat said: “Kia has been in India for a year now and in this duration, we have closely observed the functioning of the Indian market. Although, it is a very short time period to exactly predict the demand.”

“We are learning from our experiences every day and I can say that pent-up demand is now more sustained and predictable than when we started.” The company’s performance can be gauged from its September sales numbers. It registered the highest-ever domestic sales since entry into the Indian market, with 18,676 units in September 2020. The biggest contributor in the company’s sales was its recently launched compact SUV Sonet which recorded 9,266 unit sales in just 12 days. “Till now, we have received almost 35,000 bookings. With a strong product like Sonet, we were expecting such feedback from the Indian consumers,” he said. Kia’s first product for India, the Seltos recorded 9,079 unit sales.