Kia Carnival hybrid minivan coming this summer time

CHICAGO – Kia Motors is including a hybrid mannequin to its Carnival minivan to satisfy growing client demand for the expertise and help in assembly tightening federal gasoline financial system requirements.

Hybrids are a growing option for automakers as they try to make automobiles extra environment friendly and keep away from expensive federal gasoline financial system and emissions requirements. They’re additionally cheaper and a much less dramatic adjustment for shoppers who need to go greener however aren’t able to buy all-electric automobiles.

EV gross sales have been slower than anticipated within the U.S. auto business.

Hybrid automobiles sometimes embrace a standard inside combustion engine mixed with EV applied sciences reminiscent of an electrical motor and small battery. They perform like conventional automobiles and don’t have to be plugged in like EVs or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

The Carnival hybrid, introduced on the Chicago Auto Present, is anticipated to go on sale alongside an up to date model of the normal minivan in the summertime. Each fashions function up to date styling and inside applied sciences in contrast with the present mannequin, which made waves within the household hauler phase for its SUV-inspired design when it was introduced in 2021.

Kia didn’t launch pricing or gasoline financial system expectations for the brand new fashions. The present Carnival begins from about $33,000 to $47,000. With a 3.5-liter V6 engine, it achieves up to 20.6 miles per gallon combined metropolis/freeway, with a complete vary of 418 miles.

That V6 engine will proceed to be provided alongside the 1.6-liter four-cylinder turbo-hybrid engine that produces 242 horsepower and 271 foot-pounds of torque, in accordance with Kia.

Kia expects the hybrid mannequin to account for half of the Carnival’s gross sales, in accordance with the corporate.

It will likely be Kia’s fourth hybrid. The automaker additionally gives three plug-in hybrid electrical automobiles.

Except for the hybrid possibility, the up to date minivan features a redesigned back and front, together with new lights and a bigger, extra open grille on the entrance of the automobile. The up to date inside consists of Kia’s new infotainment system and different newer tech. It continues to supply “VIP lounge seating” with energy controls and leg extensions, very like a standard reclining chair.

Whereas the U.S. minivan phase is a far cry from its peak of roughly 1.5 million automobiles within the mid-Nineteen Nineties, some auto corporations reminiscent of Hyundai and Chrysler stay within the class.

Kia dad or mum Hyundai, which offered fewer than 44,000 Carnivals final yr, achieved 14% market share of the roughly 305,500-unit minivan market final yr within the U.S., in accordance with auto knowledge agency Motor Intelligence.

Chrysler was the phase chief final yr with gross sales of its Pacifica minivan, together with a plug-in hybrid electrical model, at greater than 120,550 items, or roughly 40% market share.