2024 Kia Carnival Hybrid confirmed for Oz

Hybrid power is coming to the Kia Carnival people-mover range for the first time Down Under in the coming months as part of a 2024 mid-life facelift.

Due in Australian showrooms around mid-year, the hybrid version of the Carnival will pair a familiar 1.6-litre turbo-petrol engine with an electric motor – the same combination already seen in the Sorento large SUV and, soon, the Sportage mid-size SUV.

The hybrid powertrain is expected to command a circa-$4000 price premium over the equivalent 2.2-litre diesel version of the updated Carnival, which will land in the second quarter of this year.

Speaking with carsales, Kia Australia product planning general manager Roland Rivero confirmed the Carnival hybrid’s Aussie berth, with a catch.

“There’s some good news with hybrid Carnival – we’ve had our hand up for right-hand drive Australian development and that has been given the green light,” Rivero said.

“The hybrid will land maybe a couple of months after the updated internal combustion version.

“However, there is a but. Don’t expect the four-trim strategy with the hybrid Carnival. Supply is going to be very, very tight and we expect it to be [flagship] Platinum grade only.”

Rivero cited pent-up demand for the hybrid model in petrol-centric markets like North America and Korea as the reason Australian buyers will be limited in grade choice.

“North America will definitely desire the hybrid version as will the Korean domestic market,” he explained.

The introduction of hybrid power coincides with sweeping mid-life updates to Kia’s popular people-mover, which effectively dominates sales in the Australian market.

Among those changes is the Carnival’s new interior, which is headlined by a BMW-style dual-display curved screen arrangement and a heap of extra tech including Kia Connect telematics, a haptic climate control panel, head-up display and fingerprint authentication.

Other upgrades include a host of new USB-C ports, a digital rear-view mirror, new semi-autonomous driving functions, a built-in dashcam, ‘ergo motion’ driver’s seat, wireless phone charging and over-the-air (OTA) updates.

There is also the prospect of underbody changes including the frequency selective dampers increasingly seen in other Kia models.

Final specifications, range composition and pricing for the Australian market are all yet to be finalised ahead of the updated Carnival’s arrival.

“Carnival will continue to do what it does, we think. We seem to be getting some nice free space in the category but it’s holding its place with about an 80 per cent market [segment] share,” Rivero said.

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