Kia Motors India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kia Motors Corporation, announced on Wednesday the commencement of pre-bookings for its sub-compact SUV Sonet, beginning August 20, 2020.

As per the automaker, pre-bookings can be done through the company dealerships across the country or online for a token amount of Rs 25,000.

Kookhyun Shim, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Kia Motors India said, “The Sonet is Kia’s answer to customers in the compact SUV segment who want style and substance, quality and features, performance and technology, comfort and safety in one compelling package.”

Shim added, “The Sonet has been engineered and built with Indian inputs and is a global model for Kia from India. India is the first country in the world where the Sonet goes on sale, and with the commencement of pre-bookings, we are confident our smart urban compact SUV will be warmly received in the country.”

According to Kia, in phase-I, the vehicle is being manufactured only in India at Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh production facility and offered to Indian customers first followed by export to over 70 markets including Middle-East and Africa, Latin America and Asia.

Upon its launch, the Kia Sonet will be offered with 3 engine options of 1.2-litre petrol, 1.0-litre turbo petrol and the 1.5-litre turbo diesel. These engines can either be coupled with a 5-speed manual transmission or the 6-speed DCT or the all-new 6-speed iMT gearbox.

The SUV also comes with the new iMT technology where the 6-speed iMT gearbox will enable a clutch-less shifting with the control of a manual shift level. Until now, this feature was only available in the Indian market for Hyundai Venue.

To offer a safe and hassle-free experience, Kia Motors India ensures a completely paperless, contactless digital platform for the new car buying process end-to-end. Kia pioneered this feature right at the inception of its retail business in August 2019, the company statement added.

First showcased as a concept model at the Auto Expo 2020, the SUV will compete with other B-segment SUV models like Hyundai Venue, Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza and the upcoming Nissan Magnite.

Previously, the South Korean auto major sold two models in India- Seltos and Carnival.