Kia India Expands Network To 522 Touchpoints In 236 Cities
South Korean carmaker, Kia has expanded its network to 522 touchpoints across 236 cities. With the largest brand touchpoints among new entrants, the company is focused on strengthening its presence in Tier 1 and 2 markets, contributing 40 per cent to Kia's total network strength. Kia India is also focused on expanding its touchpoints in the Tier 4 and upcountry markets, which make up 46 per cent of Kia's network capacity in India.
Aiming to enhance its accessibility to a more extensive audience base, the company plans to expand its network strength to close to 700 touchpoints in 300 cities by the end of 2024. Kia's network strategy in India involves strengthening its sales and service touchpoints alike.
Currently, Kia India has 337 Sales points, 350 Workshops, and 59 Certified Pre-owned outlets. Kia intends to increase its Certified Pre-owned network to 100 outlets by the end of 2024. Furthermore, the company also provides its aftersales services through 54 Mobile Workshops for upcountry towns and 110 Service Cars in big cities to cater to the needs of urban customers for doorstep service. The pick & drop facility has been on the uprise and now stands at 33 per cent of total service requests.
In a stride towards sustainability, Kia India has designated 20 Green Workshops across the country. These workshops fulfil 80 per cent of their energy requirements through solar power, further supporting an EV AC charging unit. Additionally, they champion 100 per cent recycling of water utilised in their operations and actively engage in rainwater harvesting. Looking ahead, the company aims to establish an additional 40 Green workshops by year-end and scale up to 150 by 2026.
On this network expansion plan, Hardeep Singh Brar, National Head Sales & Marketing, Kia India, commented, “In our country, purchasing a car is the second most important decision after buying a house, and to make this moment memorable, we have expanded our touchpoints network from 285 to 522 since starting our operations in India. As part of Kia's 2.0 strategy, we are aiming to close the year with over 700 touchpoints, thereby making Kia more accessible to our esteemed customers.”
With the launch of EV6, Kia has also appointed EV special dealerships. The personnel of these dealerships are specially trained in the intricacies of EVs. Currently, Kia operates more than 150 sales points to sell EVs in India.
