Aju Business Daily

SEOUL -- Seltos, a new compact sport utility vehicle designed by South Korea's Kia Motors, made its debut for the first time in the world in an event in India. The strategic model targeting the millennial generation will be released in South Korea in July.

Kia, a subsidiary of South Korea's Hyundai auto group, said Seltos was unveiled Thursday at a convention center in Gurugram, formerly known as Gurgaon, a financial and technology hub southwest of New Delhi. Seltos is the brainchild of "SP SIGNATURE", a concept SUV introduced at a motor show in Seoul in March.

"This is the first time that we have introduced Seltos in India, which is emerging as the center of the global auto industry," Kia Motors CEO Park Han-woo said in a statement. "It will mark a new milestone in the history of Kia's global growth history."

Starting with Seltos, Kia, which is building a car plant in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, seeks to increase its market share in India with the regular release of new models. Combined with Hyundai's plant, the South Korean auto group is capable of producing one million units in India.

The size of Seltos is similar to that of Kona, Hyundai Motor's compact SUV released in 2017. Hyundai Motor will release its new compact SUV, VENUE, in India.