2024 Kia Carnival Hybrid price announced, due in showrooms next month

The facelifted 2024 Kia Carnival people-mover will add a hybrid model, due in Australian showrooms one month after the petrol and diesel variants arriving imminently.

The Carnival Hybrid will initially be offered in a single specification grade – the flagship GT-Line – priced from $76,210 plus on-road costs, $5530 dearer than the petrol V6 and $3310 more than the diesel version.

It is the first hybrid people-mover on sale in Australia for less than $100,000.

However, Kia Australia has warned prospective buyers that stock levels at launch will be "pretty tight".

"The lion’s share [of the Carnival Hybrid] is going to the North American and Korean domestic markets [so] you’re looking at about 60 to 70 units per month if we’re lucky," said Roland Rivero, Kia Australia's General Manager of Product and Training.

For context, this represents less than 12 per cent of total Carnival sales, based on monthly deliveries of the existing version so far in 2024.

Kia Australia says it aims to eventually offer hybrid technology on other model grades, with plans to negotiate for better supply before NVES emissions standards for new vehicles come into force in Australia next year.

"Naturally with NVES coming our way we’re negotiating for greater supply and looking to open up more variants in the future," Mr Rivero said.

The new Kia Carnival Hybrid will be powered by a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine matched with an electric motor and six-speed automatic transmission, and it will be front-wheel drive only like other Carnival variants.

While this is the same combination used in the 169kW/350Nm Kia Sportage and Sorento hybrid SUVs, a higher-output 53kW drive motor allows for more combined power and torque – 180kW and 366Nm.

Fuel consumption for the hybrid is rated at 5.8L/100km in mixed driving, while Kia quotes CO2 emissions of 132g/km – down from 220g/km in the petrol V6 variant.

Kia expects the hybrid to account for approximately 10 per cent of total Carnival sales moving forward, but said its success hinges on stock.

"Through 2023 we had some supply considerations we were working through," Kia Australia Chief Operating Officer, Dennis Piccoli told media, referring to a temporary pause on petrol V6 Carnival orders due to a growing backlog of orders amid semiconductor shortages.

"Diesel was effectively around 90 per cent [of Carnival sales] and I think the hybrid could be more than the overflow of the 10 per cent, it just hinges on supply, there are ongoing negotiations."

As the most expensive variant in the Carnival range, the hybrid GT-Line will receive the full range of the 2024 Carnival's updated safety, tech and connectivity updates – including Kia's latest 'ccNC' infotainment software, with dual 12.3-inch screens, and support for a Kia Connect phone app.

Other features exclusive to the GT-Line include a 12-speaker Bose stereo, heated steering wheel, projetor LED headlights, ventilated front seats, a head-up display, eight-way power-adjustable front seats, a digital rear-view mirror, and Remote Smart Parking Assist.

While other Carnival models feature a temporary spare wheel and tyre, the hybrid Carnival has a puncture repair kit.

To improve aerodynamics, the Carnival is the first non-EV in the Kia range to adopt active air flaps, and it will feature unique wheels specific to the hybrid to reduce drag.

As with the hybrid Sportage and Sorento, the Carnival hybrid features adjustable regenerative braking controlled via paddle shifters.

The Kia Carnival Hybrid will be covered by Kia's seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, with seven years of capped-price servicing estimated to average $500 per service – though exact pricing is yet to be confirmed.

Service intervals are set more regularly than for the petrol and diesel variants, at every 12 months or 10,000km, rather than 15,000km.

Note: All prices above exclude on-road costs