New Kia Seltos vs Tata Sierra: 5 Month Report Card
The mid-size SUV segment is one of the fastest-growing in the country. It is actually one of those segments that has seen a lot of new entrants. Tata, which is one of the leading car brands in India, launched its much-awaited SUV, the Sierra, in the market last year. However, the official deliveries for the SUV only started in January this year. Another mid-size SUV that was launched around the same time as the Sierra was the Seltos. Both these SUVs are extremely popular among buyers for different reasons. Five months have passed since their official launch, and now let’s take a look at the sales numbers of both these SUVs to see how they are doing.
Tata launched the much-awaited Sierra in the market this year, and there was a lot of excitement surrounding the SUV. In January this year, Tata sold 7,003 units of the Sierra. In February, March, April, and May, Tata sold 7,100 units, 9,003 units, 7,316 units, and 6,606 units respectively. In total, Tata sold around 37,028 units of the Sierra SUV since its launch.
When Tata brought the icon back, everyone thought it was going to become the brand's best-selling model. Tata even received an overwhelming response from buyers. The company reportedly received over 1 lakh bookings. However, things were not as simple as the brand had expected. They encountered multiple challenges that prevented them from selling more of these SUVs.
They currently have a massive backlog, and that is one of the reasons why they are unable to produce more of this SUV. Tata has been facing supply-side limitations. There is decent demand for the SUV, but Tata is unable to produce enough units. Tata is manufacturing the Sierra at its Sanand facility. The company also manufactures the Nexon at the same plant.
As of now, Tata Motors is said to be producing roughly 7,500 Sierra SUVs per month, translating to an annual production capacity of around 90,000 units. With Tata planning to launch the Sierra EV in the coming months, we hope the company will get things sorted and that the numbers will improve.
The second-generation Seltos came to the Indian market around the same time as the Sierra. Deliveries for the SUV also started soon after its launch. Unlike Tata, it looks like Kia had its production side sorted from the beginning.
The sales numbers for the Seltos from January to May are out, and what we can see from the figures is that Kia has been able to maintain monthly sales of over 10,000 units consistently. In January 2026, Kia sold 10,639 units. In February, Kia sold 10,308 units, while in March, April, and May, Kia sold 11,041 units, 10,566 units, and 10,597 units respectively.
In total, Kia sold 53,151 units of the Seltos in the first five months. If the company can maintain this sales momentum, Kia might soon reach the 1 lakh sales milestone with the new Seltos in the coming months.
While Tata is planning to launch the EV version of the Sierra, Kia is working on a strong-hybrid version of the Seltos. The launch of the Seltos Hybrid is expected to happen sometime next year, after the launch of the next-generation Hyundai Creta. With the introduction of the Seltos Hybrid, sales numbers may increase further, as it would offer a balance between fuel efficiency and performance.