The third-gen Kia Carnival will be replaced by the facelifted fourth-gen MPV which is expected to debut by 2024.
21 Jun 2023 | 6616 Views | By Saptarshi Mondal, Autocar India
Kia has pulled the plug on the Carnival MPV in India and delisted the model from its website. A quick check with our dealer sources have confirmed the same. In fact, most dealers had already stopped taking fresh orders back in April at the onset of the BS6 Phase 2 ...
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Kia has pulled the plug on the Carnival MPV in India and delisted the model from its website. A quick check with our dealer sources have confirmed the same. In fact, most dealers had already stopped taking fresh orders back in April at the onset of the BS6 Phase 2 emission norms, and only a handful of unsold units were available at a few outlets. The Carnival was locally assembled from CKD kits in India.
Fourth-gen Carnival expected to arrive in 2024
Kia showcased the fourth-gen Carnival as the KA4 MPV at the Auto Expo earlier this year. However, the carmaker did not use the name Carnival as it did not want to confuse Indian customers as the third-gen model still on sale at that time.
The fourth-gen Carnival was globally introduced in June 2020, which means its already been around for 3 years, and Kia has already started work on a mid-lifecycle update that’s expected to debut by early 2024. It is this facelifted, fourth-gen model that will then be brought to India, meaning India and other markets will be in sync with the product lifecycle this time.
The fourth-gen Carnival is a lot larger and more luxuriously appointed, and the facelift is expected to improve upon that. It’s even touted to receive a new petrol-hybrid powertrain overseas, and while it remains to be seen what makes it to India, it will surely come with a mark-up in price. You can read more about that here.
Kia Carnival in India: a brief look back
The third-gen Carnival that's been on sale in India since 2020 was already an older-gen model. Moreover, having arrived just at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, sales were slow to pick up. Kia, however, was not keen on launching the fourth-gen Carnival in India just yet as the third-gen model was brought in months back, and, despite the latter being around globally since 2014, it still packed in everything that discerning customers in India would come to expect from a car in this class.
However, with the MPV being updated globally, it was only a matter of time before the third-gen Carnival was taken off the shelves in India. The final nail in the coffin is likely the BS6 Phase 2 emission norms that came into effect this April. While Kia updated the Seltos, Sonet and Carens' engines to meet the stricter emissions norms, it did not update the Carnival's 2.2-litre diesel engine.
With prices starting from Rs 30.99 lakh (ex-showroom), the Carnival did not have any direct rival in our market, with only the higher variants of the recently launched Innova Hycross being a reasonable match. However, with the Carnival now discontinued, the premium MPV segment is all for Toyota to dominate with the Innova Crysta and Hycross, with the more expensive Vellfire positioned at the absolute premium end of the market.
Upcoming Kia launches in India
Until the next-gen Carnival’s expected arrival in FY2025, Kia India has its hands quite full. The carmaker will be unveiling the mid-lifecycle facelift of the Seltos on July 4, followed by its launch later that month. Kia is also working on a facelift for the Sonet compact SUV, which is expected to debut early next year. You can read more about it here.