Kia Motors to start selling vehicles in India from 2019; will conduct roadshows for dealer partners

Kia Motors, South Korea’s biggest auto manufacturer, after Hyundai, has finally confirmed that it is coming to India. According to Overdrive, Kia will bring its range of passenger cars to India by 2019 but is already preparing to introduce itself to Indian dealer networks by conducting roadshows in the country. [caption id=“attachment_3860533” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Reuters[/caption] The roadshows have been scheduled over a period of two months, from August to September. The Korean manufacturer is on the look out for dealer partners during these roadshows and it will also give dealer partners a chance to meet top executives from Kia Motors. During these roadshows, the company will also reveal its roadmap, which will include a list of passenger vehicles that are set to roll out in the Indian market. Other details to be given out include expansion plans and Kia’s business strategy. The report claims that Kia vehicles will start rolling out in India from the second half of 2019, so the roadshows are the first baby steps, considering that we have just entered the second half of 2017. The dates for the roadshows are as follows: Delhi (JW Marriott Aerocity) from 8 - 9 August Mumbai (ITC Maratha) from 16 - 17 August Bangalore (Hotel Taj West End) from 23 - 24 August Kolkata (Taj Bengal) 1 September Back in April, Kia Motors had **announced** that it would invest about $1.1 billion for building its first factory in India. For those not in the know, Kia Motors is an affiliate of Hyundai Motors. The factory is to be set up in Anantapur District in the state of Andhra Pradesh. It is expected to be ready to start production by second half of 2019. Indeed, this hints that Kia’s plans have progressed by quite a bit as the automaker now points to vehicles rolling out by the second half of 2019 itself.