ISLAMABAD: The future of the Picanto hatchback in Pakistan appears uncertain as KIA Pakistan removed the model from its official lineup and stopped new bookings.
KIA Pakistan did not announce formally about the discontinuation of this model. But from the removal of Picanto from their official website it can be said that they are no longer offering this model to their new buyers in Pakistan.
Lucky Motor Corporation introduced the KIA Picanto hatchback in Pakistan in 2019. This small car is meant to serve as a city car in order to cater to the needs of urban users.
The introduction of this model created some excitement since KIA is becoming popular in Pakistan’s car industry and the Picanto comes with an automatic transmission facility.
But in the highly competitive category of small cars, Picanto could not maintain its sales momentum.
There are a number of reasons why Picanto is having difficulty making headway in the market.
While the automatic variant got a better response than its manual counterpart from city consumers, it is claimed that the latter could not establish itself well in the market. Pakistani car purchasers generally tend to give importance to such aspects as affordability, fuel efficiency, resellability, maintenance cost, and after-sales service while buying their cars.
Now that the Picanto has been taken off the shelves, it seems like Kia is planning to concentrate more on some other variants in its lineup which have greater market appeal.
Globally, the Picanto is available in several countries, having undergone changes in terms of design, interiors, technology, and safety measures in its latest version. However, the introduction of the latest model by KIA Pakistan has not been confirmed till now.
Existing owners of the Picanto would be able to get their car serviced and maintain the supply of parts from the dealership chain of KIA.
The above discussion clearly reveals that discontinuing the production of Picanto is an example of the increasing challenges faced by small hatchbacks in the Pakistani car market.
