Shopping for a Kia Seltos? Here’s how long you’ll be waiting for all-new SUV

Kia is forecasting delivery delays for its all-new Seltos, with the brand suggesting “supply will be the biggest problem”.

The new SUV has proven a monster hit in the markets its launched into so far, with sales in Korea and India already numbering in the tens of thousands. 

And it seems Australia will be no different, with Kia here forecasting wait times for its new SUV.

The Seltos hit the market at the end of the October, selling 179 units before the month closed – but the brand only had 179 vehicles to sell.

Combine that with what the brand describes as a “stack of pre-orders”, and you’ve got a recipe for wait times on new vehicle orders.

“We only launched on the second last day of October, and we have a stack of pre-orders,” Kia’s Kevin Hepworth told CarsGuide.

“It’s creating tremendous interest, but supply is going to be the biggest problem.”

Adding to the supply constraints is the fact that, while India’s vehicles are manufactured in that country, Australia’s arrive from Korea, which means we’re fighting with that domestic market for production.

Cars destined for the USA will also be built in Korea, with the Seltos to launch Stateside early next year, only adding to the demand.

“America comes online early next year, and they get their cars out of Korea as well,” Mr Hepworth says.

“We’re expecting some delays, with customers waiting just a little while. We’re not going to have unlimited supply,”

“At this stage its hard to tell how long a wait might be until the market settles.

“It’s a brand new car, but at this stage we just accept there might be difficulty in filling particular orders, but we would hope they won’t be too significant.”

The Seltos model line-up consists of the entry-level S grade (priced at $25,990 drive-away), then the Sport variant ($29,490 drive-away), the Sport+ (from $32,990 drive-away) model and the range-topping GT Line ($41,990 drive-away).

According to Kia, the Sport+ and GT Line are expected to be the most popular models, and so the most at risk of wait times.