CKD Kia Carnival To Be Launched Soon – Price Is From RM235k-RM260k, 7- and 8-Seater Variants

According to a Facebook post by a Kia dealership in Seri Kembangan, the locally-assembled (CKD) Kia Carnival could be launched soon in Malaysia, five months after the car was first launched here as a fully-imported model.

AZ Master Motor's Facebook page stated that, the CKD Kia Carnival is now available for booking, with three variants priced between RM235,000 and RM260,000.

The estimated price is a significant increase over the CBU counterpart, which comes in just under the RM200,000 mark at RM196,341. We don't usually see price increases when moving from CBU to CKD, but the price increase is due to a unique tax loophole in our country.

Because of its 11-seater layout, the current fully-imported Kia Carnival qualifies as a commercial vehicle, allowing it to benefit from lower tax rates. Based on customer feedback, the locally assembled Kia Carnival will instead switch to a seven- or eight-seater layout, which should provide more legroom for rear passengers, but at a higher price because it is now classified as a passenger vehicle.

At the very least, the new car should come with some equipment upgrades to help offset the higher price. Official specifications have yet to be announced, but the dealer's post confirmed that the CKD model will have a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, as opposed to the current car's analogue unit.

We could also see the addition of advanced driver assistance features like autonomous emergency braking and adaptive cruise control, which are currently unavailable on the fully-imported Kia Carnival.

In terms of performance, we expect the locally assembled Kia Carnival to retain the same 2.2-litre turbodiesel mill that previously delivered 202 hp and 440 Nm of torque to the front wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission.