Kia Targets India Hybrid Gap With Plans For A New Compact SUV

Kia Corp. is planning to launch a hybrid compact sports utility vehicle in India within the next 18 months, aligning with a new emissions policy that encourages transitional technologies and entering a segment bypassed by its Japanese rivals.

The upcoming sub-four-meter vehicle will be complemented by a second, larger hybrid SUV, according to people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity as the details are not yet public. The timeline for these rollouts is not final and may change, they added.

The launches will mark the South Korean automaker’s entry into dual-powered segments — cars that can run on fossil fuels as well as batteries —  in the South Asian country. The Indian units of Toyota Motor Corp. and Suzuki Motor Corp. have been the only ones so far to roll out hybrid vehicles but have stuck to larger cars in this technology. The domestic carmakers have largely prioritized their fresh investments in fully electric vehicles.

Kia’s strategy underscores how automakers are broadening their lineups to meet stricter emission norms. India’s draft emissions policy last week signaled a shift from EV-centric ambitions to promoting hybrids and other alternatives as part of a multi-fuel roadmap toward cleaner mobility.

A representative for Kia in India did not respond to an email seeking comments on the new hybrid launches.

Practical Alternative

Kia’s compact offering could also help unleash demand for hybrids in the South Asian nation, where affordability and infrastructure gaps make dual-powered vehicles a practical alternative to EVs. 

As global automakers recalibrate their strategies amid uneven EV adoption and tightening emission norms, compact hybrids could emerge as a new battleground in India as well as other emerging economies where small vehicles still rule the road.

The absence of hybrids in the compact segment has so far curbed adoption of the technology in the country, with such vehicles making up just about 2.5% of India’s passenger vehicle market — less than half the share held by EVs, according to government registration data.

That makes hybrid entry critical for Kia, which lacks a mass-market EV and relies heavily on diesel and gasoline models such as the Seltos and Sonet in India. Kia India currently sells the locally-made Carens Clavis EV and the imported EV6.

The Indian unit of Kia’s parent Hyundai Motor Co. said earlier this year it will add a hybrid vehicle to its product lineup in addition to a broader plan to launch 26 models by 2030.