Kia to offer UVO Connect feature on all its future cars

Kia Seltos | Rs 9.89 lakh | Kia’s second vehicle in the Indian market, the Seltos has also been doing extremely well ever since its launch. With a decent amount of room for both the front as well as the rear passengers, the Seltos is a viable option for those looking to hit the road with the family every now and then.

When Kia first rolled out the Seltos in India it also introduced its UVO Connect in the country. This was then extended to the MPV and now, with the inbound Sonet Compact SUV, the company has announced that all its future cars will be connected.

In an interview to Autocar India, Vivek Goswami, general manager, product planning, Kia Motors India, said, “Our intention is to offer this feature (UVO Connect) on all the cars which we bring in this market in the future.”

This essentially means the top-spec trims on all of Kia’s future cars will feature sim-based connectivity. The UVO Connect connected car technology, at the moment, is a premium feature that is not offered in budget cars. For example, Hyundai, Kia’s sister company, offers Blue Link connected car tech, but entry-level cars like the Santro, Grand i10 Nios and the Aura sedan do not get this feature.

This also points to the fact that Kia could be focusing on the mid-range market and upwards. This could mean none of the company's entry-level cars will come to India.

The next car to come to Indian shores will be the Sonet, and in addition to UVO Connect, the compact SUV is expected to feature a large 10-inch touchscreen infotainment display. The Sonet is expected to be powered by an option between a 1-litre turbo-petrol, a 1.2-litre petrol and a 1.5-litre diesel engine.

Considering both the Carnival and the Seltos have been doing well in the Indian market, it will be interesting to see what the compact SUV from Kia can do against the likes of the Hyundai Venue among others.