A report suggests that Kia Motors will launch the Carnival premium MPV as their second offering in India after the Seltos SUV by early 2020.
The year 2019 is turning out to be an interesting one for the Indian automobile industry. While on one hand the automotive sales is declining, many new brands are making inroads in India. Case in point MG Motor, who recently launched their first product – the Hector in the domestic market. The other brand that will enter India this year is the South Korean auto major Kia Motors.
Kia will start their India innings with the made-in-India Seltos small SUV and it was recently unveiled in India as part of their global reveal event. While Seltos will be launched in India sometime in August, a new media report suggests that Kia will bring the Carnival (Grand Carnival) MPV in India as their second offering.
There’s a probability that Kia will launch (or at least reveal) the MPV at the 2020 Auto Expo to be held in February in Delhi-NCR. Kia will sell the Carnival as a CKD unit and will assemble the kits at the company’s Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh based plant.
The Kia Carnival is available in a 7-seat, 8-seat and 11-seat configurations internationally and chances are Kia will only bring the 7- and 8-seater configurations to compete against the popular Toyota Innova Crysta MPV.
The Kia Carnival measures 5,115 mm in length, 1,985 mm in width and 1,740 mm in height. It has a 3,060 mm wheelbase. The Kia Carnival will be priced more than the Innova and hence loaded to the brim with features like UVO Connect in-car connectivity suite (same as Seltos), panoramic sunroof, three-zone climate control, large touchscreen infotainment system and a host of safety features.
The Kia Carnival will be powered by a 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine producing 202 PS and 441 Nm of torque. It will be mated to a 8-speed automatic transmission. However, it can get a manual gearbox too for price benefit.
Expect the Kia Carnival to be priced close to Rs 25 lakh (ex-showroom).