Kia Carnival receives over 1,400 bookings in one day

Kia Motors India has announced that its soon-to-be-launched Carnival MPV has received 1,410 bookings in one day. This indicates a great demand for the MPV that is scheduled to launch at the 2020 Auto Expo, on February 5. Bookings for the Kia Carnival had opened on January 21 – online via Kia Motors India’s official website or through Kia dealers across the country – for an amount of Rs 1 lakh.

The Korean brand also revealed that around 64 percent of the overall bookings were for the fully-loaded Limousine trim. The Carnival is available in three trim levels – Premium, Prestige and Limousine – and three-seating layouts. While the top-spec Limousine is only available as a seven-seater, the mid-spec Prestige is available in seven- and nine-seat configuration and the entry-level Premium comes in seven- and eight-seat form.

Speaking about the booking milestone, Kookhyun Shim, managing director and CEO, Kia Motors India, said, “We are thrilled with the reception that the Kia Carnival has got even before its launch. We attained 1,410 bookings for Kia’s new offering in the Indian market in just one day after we started accepting pre-orders. This heartening response to our first product in this aspirational category is a proof of the power of Kia brand in India. It is also clear that there was an unmet demand for a world-class product like the Carnival in India. Our priority now is to make sure our extravagant by design Carnival reaches those who have reposed faith in it and in Kia Motors at the earliest.”

The Kia Carnival is somewhat in a niche of its own, as it will be positioned as a more premium – and more expensive – alternative to the Toyota Innova Crysta. To cement that position, Kia offers features such as a dual panel electric sunroof, VIP seats with integrated leg rests, 10.1-inch dual touchscreen rear seat entertainment system, one-touch power sliding doors and a powered tailgate, among others, on the top-spec variant. The Carnival, in higher-spec form, also gets Kia’s UVO Connect connectivity suite with 37 connected car features that can also be accessed through a smartwatch. Expect prices in the Rs 26-30 lakh (ex-showroom) range.

The MPV is powered by a BS6-compliant, 200hp/440Nm, 2.2-litre diesel engine paired with an 8-speed automatic gearbox as standard. You can read more about the Carnival in our review.