South Korean carmaker Kia Motors Corp., which has had a dream debut in India with its Seltos sports utility vehicle, is not too sure about bringing electric vehicles in the country.
“High cost of electric vehicles, poor charging infrastructure, and range anxiety are a hindrance to the consumers currently,” Manohar Bhat, vice president and head (sales and marketing) at Kia Motors India, told BloombergQuint in an interview. “EV is not an attractive proposition for customers today.”
Bhat, however, said the company is capable of building electric vehicles for the Indian market at its Anantapur plant in Andhra Pradesh. A plan for electric vehicles will be drawn after seeing consumer demand in the country, he said.
The strategy is different from another newcomer MG Motor India Pvt. Ltd. that recently unveiled the MG ZS EV, an electric SUV, as its second product for the Indian market.
Kia Motors, which has sold nearly 45,000 units of the Seltos in just four months since launch, has lined up two more vehicles for 2020. The Kia Carnival MPV will be launched in February, and a compact SUV will follow soon after.
WATCH | VP Mamohar Bhat on Kia Motors' India strategy for 2020
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