India has potential to be Kia’s 3rd largest market, says CEO Han Woo Park

For Korean carmaker Kia’s chief executive Han Woo Park, India is a familiar market — he had earlier led Hyundai Motor in India. In an interview to Ketan Thakkar & Sharmistha Mukherjee on the sidelines of Auto Expo 2018, Park says Kia was too late to enter India. The Hyundai affiliate, which is preparing to launch its first vehicle in the country, will now try to make up for the lost time, he says. Edited excerpts:

On Kia’s late entry
Agree. Too late.


On catching up
It is a big challenge in front of us, we will convert the challenge to chance. Kia’s entry strategy is to bring fully customised, locally produced products high in quality. We will first enter the compact SUV (segment), which is a growing segment. We are aiming to position Kia as a trendy and innovative company and will target young and vibrant Indians. And, we intend to appeal them with our design.

Initially our focus will be in the main cities. Eventually, we will try to cover the majority of big markets. We started our India project five years ago; once the Mexico plant was set up, we decided to enter the Indian market. In April 2017 we entered into an MoU with the Andhra Pradesh government. We started construction (of a factory in AP’s Anantapur district) in October 2017 and we will be producing cars in September 2019. We are on schedule.

On aspiration for the Indian market
We want to reach a 5% market share as soon as possible. We are targeting to enter the (list of) top-five carmakers in India in the next three years. We have created capacity of 3 lakh units; we will try to fill up capacity as soon as possible. In 2019, we will launch the SP concept car. In the following year, we will launch the small SUV, (the) next car will be a premium hatchback, and based on market demand we will decide other models. India will add to global sales and it will be one of the last frontiers. India has a potential to become the third largest market for Kia.

On synergies with Hyundai
We are competing with them, we have a differentiated proposition when compared to Hyundai. We have our design. There may be some synergies in sourcing and purchase, but the front end is very different.

On export plans
We are considering exports from India, but immediate focus is on the domestic market.

On segments that Kia will target
We cannot compete with Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai head on; we will lose. We are newcomers in India. We will target the key growth segments like B segment compact SUVs. If we are successful, we will bring in new models. The Indian market will grow into 5 million units (from over 3 million now), and premium hatchback and compact SUVs are the growing segments. We would like to participate in those segments.

On electric vehicles for India
We will look at an exclusive compact EV for India, but for the segment to grow, it needs government support. We already have a Soul EV and we also have Niro hybrid. Our immediate focus is on mainstream market, but we have plans on a compact EV for India.