New Kia Carnival teased before October 3 launch

Kia India has officially started its teaser campaign for the new Carnival MPV, ahead of its launch on October 3. The new Carnival will be brought to India via the CBU route, although the Korean brand plans to locally assemble the MPV at a later date. Considering its full-imported status, the price of the new Carnival is expected to exceed Rs 50 lakh, ex-showroom.

1. New Carnival teaser shows large touchscreen, two-pane sunroof
2. Bookings open unofficially at the dealer level
3. One fully loaded variant to be on offer

The first teaser sent out by Kia confirms a few details about the Carnival for India. Unlike the outgoing model, the new model sports a much larger infotainment touchscreen (international models get a 12.3-inch unit) and a digital instrument cluster of the same size. Additionally, it includes two sunroofs: one for the front passengers and another above the second-row seats. Other expected features include front and rear dash cams, a head-up display, a digital inside rear-view mirror, and ambient lighting on the dashboard.

Kia dealerships across India have started accepting unofficial orders for the new Carnival, with a booking amount of Rs 1 lakh, which is said to be fully refundable. Dealer sources have also said that there will be one fully loaded variant at launch, and the new Carnival will be offered in two or three exterior colours, including a white finish and a black one.

Details that are yet to be confirmed include the number of seats the new Carnival will come with. In international markets, the MPV gets 7-, 9- and 11-seater options. In addition, while we expect the previous model’s 2.2-litre four-cylinder diesel engine to continue, this has also not been confirmed. Globally, the MPV gets 1.6-litre turbo-petrol-hybrid and 3.5-litre V6 petrol powertrain options.   

As we have reported earlier, since the Carnival will be brought in as a CBU, prices are expected to start above Rs 50 lakh at the launch. This positioning means the MPV will have no direct rivals and will be priced between the Toyota Innova Hycross* (Rs 18.92 lakh-30.98 lakh) and the Vellfire* (Rs 1.22 lakh-1.33 crore).

*Prices, ex-showroom, Delhi