Kia India Records Best-Ever March Sales: New Seltos Leads The Blistering Run
Kia India sold 29,112 units in March 2026, its highest-ever monthly wholesale figure since the brand commenced operations in 2019. That beats the previous best March by a meaningful margin and comes on top of already strong comparable numbers from March 2025, when Kia had sold 25,525 units. The 14.5 percent year-on-year growth is not a low-base story. It is growth on growth.
For the full Q1 2026 (January to March), Kia posted 84,316 units, up 11.6 percent over 75,576 units in Q1 2025. Both the monthly and quarterly figures are the highest in the company's history in India. Kia has now completed approximately 1.5 million wholesale dispatches from its Anantapur plant in Andhra Pradesh since production began in August 2019, of which over 1.2 million were domestic sales and over 3.67 lakh were exports.
The second-generation Seltos was globally premiered on December 10, 2025, prices were announced on January 2, 2026, and deliveries commenced from mid-January. It is barely three months old and is already the brand's primary volume driver.
Priced from Rs 10.99 lakh to Rs 20.19 lakh ex-showroom, it is built on a new K3 platform, which is a full platform change from the K2 architecture that underpinned the first generation. The new car is 95mm longer at 4,460mm, 30mm wider, and rides on a wheelbase that is 80mm longer than before at 2,690mm. It carries three engine options: a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol producing 115PS, a 1.5-litre turbo petrol with 160PS and 253Nm, and a 1.5-litre diesel producing 116PS and 250Nm.
Within weeks of deliveries commencing, the new Seltos crossed 10,000 units in monthly sales, a milestone that its predecessor took considerably longer to establish. Its Bharat NCAP 5-star safety rating, published in late March 2026, adds a significant endorsement at a moment when safety scores are actively influencing purchase decisions.
The Seltos scored 31.70 out of 32 in Adult Occupant Protection, the highest score recorded by any ICE vehicle tested under BNCAP to date, and 45 out of 49 in Child Occupant Protection, with full marks in dynamic crash performance. The K3 platform's increased use of high-strength steel and hot-stamped reinforcement components directly contributed to these scores.
The Sonet remains the second volume driver. Kia has recently extended automatic transmission availability to petrol and diesel variants starting under Rs 10 lakh, which widens the model's accessible buyer pool without requiring a complete platform overhaul. The Sonet competes in the compact SUV segment alongside the Brezza, Venue, Nexon, and Kylaq, and its ability to offer an AT option at a sub-Rs 10 lakh entry point is a specific product action rather than a broad claim.
The Carens line-up, which now includes the Clavis ICE and the Carens Clavis EV alongside the standard Carens, has been repositioned upward. The Clavis variants introduce GT-Line and X-Line trim levels along with a six-seater layout featuring captain seats, taking the model into territory previously occupied only by more expensive three-row crossovers. The Carens Clavis EV, priced between Rs 18.99 lakh and Rs 23.99 lakh, broadens Kia's electric portfolio beyond the premium EV6 and EV9.
Kia's 862 sales and service touchpoints across 390 cities is significant context for the volume number. That is one of the wider coverage networks among non-Maruti, non-Hyundai brands and directly supports the brand's claim to be a mass-premium player. The 124 Certified Pre-Owned outlets alongside the primary network add a used-car trade-in pathway that feeds new car purchases at the entry and upgrade level.
The Anantapur plant currently has an installed annual capacity of 3,00,000 units. At the Q1 2026 run rate of 84,316 units per quarter, annualised production would reach approximately 3,37,000 units, a number that starts to press meaningfully against the plant's stated ceiling. Whether Kia moves to expand capacity at Anantapur or begins planning for an additional facility will depend on whether the current growth trajectory holds through the second half of 2026.