CKD Kia Carnival to be priced from RM235k-RM260k, 7- and 8-seater variants



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

According to a post published on AZ Master Motor’s Facebook page, the CKD Kia Carnival is now open for booking, with three variants on offer, estimated to be priced between RM235,000 and RM260,000.

The estimated pricing is a stark increase over its CBU counterpart, which slides in right under the RM200k barrier at RM196,341. We don’t usually see a price increase moving from CBU to CKD, but the reason behind the price hike is due to a unique tax loophole in our country.

Due to the 11-seater layout, the current fully-imported Kia Carnival was able to be classified as a commercial vehicle, thus taking advantage of lower tax rates. Citing customer feedback, the locally-assembled Kia Carnival will instead switch to a seven- or eight-seater layout, which should afford more legroom for passengers at the back, but at the expense of a higher price as it’s now classified as a passenger vehicle.

At least, the new car should come with some upgrades to its equipment list to help compensate for the higher price. Official specifications haven’t been announced yet, but the dealer’s post confirmed that the CKD model will come with a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, as opposed to the analogue unit on the current car.

We could also see the addition of advanced driver assistance features such as autonomous emergency braking and adaptive cruise control, which are sorely missing from the current fully-imported Kia Carnival.

As for performance, we expect the locally-assembled Kia Carnival to continue with the same 2.2-litre turbodiesel mill as before, which sends 202 hp and 440 Nm of torque to the front wheels via an eight-speed automatic gearbox.

Interested to know how the Kia Carnival drive? Check out our first impressions here!


GALLERY