After two years of no all-new models from the Korean marque, Kia will launch a brace of new offerings in the month of October. Both the new-generation Kia Carnival, as well as the all-electric Kia EV9 SUV, will be launched in India on October 3, marking the end of a dry spell for Kia India, with its most recent all-new model being the EV6, which came in 2022. The Carnival, which has previously been showcased in India at the 2023 Auto Expo as the KA4, will arrive in facelift form, and the EV9 will vault straight to the top of Kia’s India portfolio as its priciest model till date.
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The Carnival will return to India in October as a completely-knocked-down (CKD) kit, with the previous-gen model having been discontinued in 2023 ahead of the implementation of BS6 Phase II emission norms. The new-gen Carnival, in facelifted form, has a more upright design with a revised grille and new vertically oriented headlights that include a three-step light unit and L-shaped LED daytime running lights. The bumper is also new, featuring a wider central air intake.
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The new-gen Carnival has already been facelifted overseas, and India will get the facelift.
Overseas, the new Carnival features two 12.3-inch screens for infotainment and instrumentation, a head-up display, a rear entertainment system with a 14.6-inch HD screen, eight airbags, and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), most of which are expected to make it to the India-spec model.
Globally, the new Carnival is available with the 3.5-litre petrol and 1.6-litre petrol-hybrid and 2.2-litre diesel engines. The previous-gen Carnival was sold only with the 2.2-litre diesel engine in India paired with an automatic transmission. The same could continue with the new generation as well. Expect prices to start from above Rs 40 lakh, with the top-spec model likely to inch closer to Rs 50 lakh (ex-showroom).
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The EV9 will be the second all-electric Kia model for India. At over 5,000 mm in length, 1,980 mm in width, and 1,755 mm in height, the EV9 is one of the largest Kia passenger vehicles ever made. At 3,100 mm, its wheelbase is 200 mm longer than that of even the Kia Telluride, which is the company’s largest combustion-engine SUV.
The EV9 has a wheelbase longer than that of even the Kia Telluride.
Two battery options are on offer with the EV9 abroad – a 76.1 kWh unit on the Standard variant, and a 99.8 kWh battery on the Long Range model. The Standard EV9 is available only in single-motor, rear-wheel drive form, but the Long Range model can be had in both single- and dual-motor versions. With a motor mounted on each axle, the EV9 is blessed with all-wheel drive ability, and has a peak output of close to 380 bhp and 600 Nm of torque. In this configuration, the EV9 can crack 0-100 kmph in six seconds, which further drops to 5.3 seconds with an over-the-air (OTA) software update boosting torque to 700 Nm.
Kia says the range of the EV9 Long Range will exceed 540 kilometres on the WLTP cycle. In India, expect Kia to roll out the fully-equipped Long Range model, just like it chose to roll out the EV6 with the bigger battery option. It’s likely that the EV9’s price, with import duties accounted for, will exceed the Rs 1 crore (ex-showroom) mark.
