EV9, Carnival & Sportage Set To Kick-Start Local Kia Brand Revival

Kia Sales Malaysia (KSM) officially introduced itself - and its lead management personnel - in a press dinner it hosted last night.

Though officially set to commence operations on Jan 1, 2026, the newly established Kia Sales Malaysia (KSM) firm – the principal-owned and -led entity taking over the Korean marque’s representation in Malaysia – have outlined their initial product plans.

In a press dinner held last night, KSM revealed it will kick-start the Kia brand revival in Malaysia with three models first – EV9, Carnival and Sportage. We’ll also point out that the latter two are presently locally assembled (CKD) by Inokom in Kulim, Kedah.

Once it commences operations on Jan 1, 2026, KSM confirmed both the Carnival and EV9 models - plus the Sportage - for its initial model line-up.

Unlike sister brand Hyundai, which is now similarly managed by principal-led entity Hyundai Motor Malaysia (HMY), KSM have elected to retain at least one electric vehicle (EV) offering in its rebooted initial model line-up for 2026.

As a refresher, previous importers and distributors Bermaz Auto (BAuto) officially launched the EV9 flagship EV SUV offering with 6- and 7-seat options, both sharing the same 99.8 kWh battery pack that yields travel ranges of up to 505 KM.

A surprise was KSM's move to retain the EV9 flagship EV SUV, though how much it will cost in 2026 with CBU EV tax incentives removed remains anyone's guess for now.

What was not disclosed though was said flagship’s potentially revised pricing – and this will occur as fully imported (CBU) EV tax incentives by the government expires on Dec 31. For reference, the Kia EV9 was tagged at RM369,668 (7-seat) and RMRM374,668 (6-seat).

Adding to said uncertainty is the planned revision towards calculating applicable excise tax by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) through their new Open Market Value (OMV) policy. In short, we’ll have to wait and see how KSM re-prices the EV9 in 2026.

Omitted from the initial line-up - at least initially - is the Sorento three-row D-SUV offering.

Before detailing the Carnival and Sportage, seasoned readers will perhaps note one key omission here – the Sorento. Said three-row D-segment premium SUV offering has been axed, at least from this initial plan outlined by KSM.

Perhaps this was meant to ensure no overlap with its ‘twin’ the latest-gen Hyundai Santa Fe, which currently stands as sister firm HMY’s flagship offering. We’ll also speculate that it might take some time before the Sorento, which was also CKD, is reintroduced.

A proven best-seller, the Carnival is set to continue going on sale under KSM, though we reckon changes seen overseas will come sooner rather than later.

Being proven sellers, both the Carnival full-sized MPV and Sportage C-SUV will remain. The former, which was offered in 7-, 8- and 11-seat choices, look set to retain its 2.2-litre 4-cyl turbo-diesel heart too, though we reckon changes will inevitably come.

The combined factors of current era of un-subsidised diesel fuel prices in Malaysia plus the existence of a face-lifted version overseas with hybrid petrol-electric powertrain options suggest KSM could soon refresh this popular family-mover sooner rather than later.

Last updated by BAuto in Feb 2024, the Carnival was priced locally between RM198,500 and RM259,888.

The newest metal from the Kia brand launched by previous distributors BAuto - the Sportage - also remains, though it has the tough task of fighting in a rather 'crowded' local C-SUV market segment.

As for the Sportage, the newest Kia brand offering launched by BAuto prior to KSM’s entry looks set to continue unchanged – existence of a refreshed iteration in select market overseas plus an arguably  rather ‘crowded’ local C-SUV market segment notwithstanding.

The nameplate saw four variants available encompassing base- and mid-spec guises powered by a 2.0-litre 4-cyl petrol naturally aspirated mill, followed by two higher-specced flavours that share a 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo petrol heart instead.

With the Sportage, we’re also willing to bet prices will remain somewhat unchanged with this CKD offering. As a refresher, BAuto launched the Sportage back in Dec 2024 where it was priced between RM145,999 and RM185,999.