Kia will bring its Sonet compact SUV to the Middle East

Kia Motors has announced that the Sonet, a compact SUV concept shown at the recent Delhi Auto Expo, will make its way to Middle East and Africa markets by late 2020 after its official launch in India by the second half of this year.

At the motor show, Kia had said that the Sonet previews a future global compact SUV from the brand. The concept will be developed further before a production version is launched in the Indian market in the second half of 2020.

“When Kia launched in India two years ago, we came here to win the hearts of Indian customers. Today, I can say that our approach – to do more than simply build and sell great cars here – is bearing fruit,” said Kookhyun Shim, MD and CEO for Kia Motors India.

“We are excited to bring to our region yet another brand-new SUV. We believe it will exceed our young and modern customers’ expectations, and will be a great addition to our growing SUV range,” said Yaser Shabsogh, Chief Operating Officer, Regional HQ, Middle East & Africa, Kia. “We are also delighted it is coming from our India facility, completed last year. This is our newest facility globally, and is already supplying us with the Seltos SUV, our most recent launch in the region,” he added.

Kia says the Sonet is targeted at a demographic that wants to always “stay connected to the world in more ways than one.” The South Korean carmaker claims the Sonet is designed to exceed customers’ lifestyle and technology expectations.

The Sonet is unmistakably Kia in design, with Kia’s signature ‘tiger-nose’ grille, stepwell geometry within the grille mesh, ‘tiger-eyeline’ daytime running lights, and wide rear signature lighting.

The Sonet’s cabin is fitted with a 10.25-inch infotainment and navigation system with UVO Connect, a Bose premium audio system, and what Kia dubs an intelligent manual transmission.