Kia has been enjoying a good market presence since the launch of Seltos in August 2019. It is very challenging to be present in a car market with a very few models in the portfolio. However, KIA has nailed it with their strong products and pricing even with only three mass market cars under Rs. 30 lakhs.
There has been speculations among the enthusiasts about KIA’s product differentiation in Indian market. KIA has answered them all with the news of their upcoming launches of the Latest-gen Carens and its top of the line electric SUV, the EV9. This launch will provide a boost in the brand’s image among the buyers.
All You Need to Know About the KIA Carens and KIA EV9
Indian customers will be able to buy both the all-electric Kia EV9 SUV and the new-generation Kia Carnival on October 3. This is the first all-new model from Kia India since the EV6 came out in 2022. The latest generation of Carnival, which was first shown in India at the 2023 Auto Expo as the KA4, will come with an update, and the EV9 will become Kia’s most expensive model to date with this arrival.
What We Expect From The New Kia Carnival?
The Carnival will be available in India as a CKD unit. The 4th-gen Carnival is a lot more modern than the previous-generation Carnival present in India. It has a more upright and edgy design language, unlike the older car. It gets a revised grille and new vertically oriented headlights that include a three-step light unit and L-shaped LED daytime running lights. The front does look much more aggressive than ever before.
The Tail section is also completely different from the previous car. It gets connected LED tail lights which look sleeker now and gels in with the modern styling quotient.
In the engine department, we expect it to get the same 2.2-Litres Diesel engine as the one present in the previous car. The engine churns out 202 Ps of Power and 440 Nm of peak torque. The engine might get some tweaking to cope with the BS6 norms.
Expected Upgrades in the New KIA Carens
- ADAS Level 2
- Ottoman Seats
- Bigger 12.3 inch dual screens
- Seat ventilation for rear seats along with front ventilation
- It can get 6, 7, 9 and even 11 seat configurations
- A rear entertainment system with a 14.6-inch HD screen
- Eight airbags
Expect prices of New KIA Carnival
We expect it to start from above Rs 45 lakh, with the top-spec model likely to inch closer to Rs 50 lakh (ex-showroom).
Kia EV9: What To Expect?
India will get its second all-electric Kia, the EV9. The EV9 is one of the biggest cars Kia has ever made for people. It’s over 5,000 mm long, 1,980 mm wide, and 1,755 mm high. At 3,100 mm, its length is 200 mm longer than that of the Kia Telluride, which is the biggest SUV the company makes with a petrol engine.
Outside of China, the EV9 comes with two different battery types:
- A 76.1 kWh battery for the Standard model
- A 99.8 kWh battery for the Long Range model.
The Standard EV9 only comes with a single motor and rear-wheel drive, but the Long Range model comes with both a single motor and two motors. All-wheel drive is possible on the EV9 because it has a motor on each axle. Its peak power is about 380 bhp and its torque is 600 Nm. By itself, the EV9 can go from 0 to 100 km/h in six seconds. With an over-the-air (OTA) software update that increases power to 700 Nm, that time drops even more, to 5.3 seconds.
Kia says that the EV9 Long Range will have a range of more than 540 kilometres on the WLTP test. If Kia does what it did with the EV6 and the bigger battery, it will bring out the fully-equipped Long Range model in India. After taking into account import taxes, the EV9’s price is expected to go over Rs 1 crore (ex-showroom).
