Kia recently opened up their new facility in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh in Anantapur. At this very facility, we saw the SP2i SUV which was presented in front of us in a camouflage wrap. Kia announced their plans of entering the Indian market some time back and began the construction of the Anantapur plant back in 2017. Fast forward to 2019, we have a functional plant which has now started the trial run of Kia’s first SUV, the SP2i which will be offered in the Indian market very soon. Having attended the inaugural event, here are some features of this upcoming SUV which we could see at the factory.
The first thing you would need to know about the new vehicle is the fact that Kia will debut with BS VI compliant engine in the Indian market. That would make sense, considering the new safety and emission norms would be enforced very soon. Moreover, Kia Motors would also have to offer dual airbags, ABS with EBD, child seat anchors, high-speed alarm, seatbelt reminders and some more safety aids as standard across all variants. Other design highlights of the production-spec SUV, that we could see were are
- A clamshell Bonnet
- Disc brakes on all four wheels
- Goodyear Assurance tyres
- 5-spoke alloy wheels
- A tiger grille
- Bonnet mounted DRLs
- Bumper-integrated headlights
- Three adjustable headrests in the rear
The new SUV from Kia is rumoured to use both petrol and diesel engines. This SUV will make its debut before the end of this year, with some electric SUVs on our way. However, before all that happens, we congratulate Kia Motors, for trial production of the SP2 SUV at their seriously massive and state-of-the-art plant is about to begin today. Stay tuned for more news, as soon as it comes out, on any developments on the Kia Motors brand in our country.
