Kia India boss Tae Jin Park confirms new Carnival’s India entry next year.
Kia India will enter the full-size MPV space again with the new Carnival sometime next year. The third-gen Carnival was on sale in India till recently and was discontinued due the end of its product lifecycle.
- India to get faceifted fourth-gen Carnival
- Will be locally assembled via CKD kits
- Will be priced higher than the outgoing model
At the sidelines of the Seltos facelift launch, Kia India CEO, Taejin Park confirmed to Autocar India that the brand will indeed bring the yet-to-be-revealed refreshed fourth-gen Carnival to India and not the KA4 which was showcased at the Auto Expo 2023 earlier this year. He said, ” We don’t want old styles to come to the India market. We want the best, newest model to premier here.”
The fourth-gen Kia Carnival was showcased in India as the Kia KA4. Kia did not call it Carnival as the third-gen of the MPV was still on sale at that time. The Fourth-gen Carnival (KA4) has been on sale overseas since around three years and is due for a mid-cycle styling update in near future. The facelift for the fourth-gen Carnival is being tested in Korea already and sports major styling revamp which will bring the MPV in-line with the newer Kia models like the refreshed Seltos that made its India debut today. Some of the styling cues seen on the Seltos like connected taillamps, Kia’s signature Star Map lighting theme, L-shaped taillamps and a few other new yet familiar design bits, are all expected to make their way on the updated Carnival. This means India will get the same Carnival MPV that will be on sale overseas.
The new Carnival that’s headed to India, will not only sport fresh design, but will also come with more features and tech. Kia will most likely bring the new Carnival here via the CKD route which will help keep prices in check, however expect a significant markup in pricing over the third-gen Carnival which was priced at around Rs 31 lakh (ex-showroom).
Similar to the outgoing Carnival, the new gen MPV won’t have a direct rival however it will pose some competition to the likes of the Innova Hycross and could also be an affordable alternative to the much more expensive Toyota Vellfire that will also see a full model change in India in the coming months.