[mmxylorider]

The number of bookings done and dispatches made clearly indicate there is an audience that can afford to put down about 3M INR on a yet unknown product and one of it's kind in the Indian market. The Carnival is most definitely not targeted at the middle class segment and considering a zero butch appeal, not for the non-urban market.

The big metros with the right roads, ASS and more importantly the demographics of double income families in mid-upper management roles will go for this. They would not care much for few lakhs here and there.

I would not be surprised to see this also becoming a standard with Consulates/Embassies, high end hotels, Top end transfer/tour vehicles. There are a lot of such niche markets with deep pockets that the Carnival can easily penetrate especially with the features being offered with product.

[rrsteer]

There is definitely a market for a full size MPV and I would like to buy such a car. But I still feel the third row is a compromise for adults in the Carnival. I like how the third row is in the Toyota Vellfire.

Kia has definitely done a great job promoting this car. Everyone in my family knows that an Innova like car but much more luxurious is being launched. Mind you none of us watch TV, this knowledge comes from YouTube ads, videos etc. But herein lies the problem. Everyone expected Innova like pricing. Not saying Innova is VFM, infact Carnival is, but this is how most read the car.

I hope this triggers Toyota to launch full size MPVs from its portfolio but at sensible prices.

[akshay_ritz]

Based on my experience of talking to friends and people once you are close to the 25 Lakh range you are already at a point where money is not one to top three things you think of in the car. It's typically brand (snob factor), comfort, and reliability. I think this is going to be a smash hit in the customer segment. Would buy it in a heartbeat if I could afford it. Most people who spend that kind of money can stretch if they have the right incentive. The Carnival has provided that incentive in spades. Apple, Samsung, even imported Chocolates have proven that for the luxury segment price is not a significant issue.

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

Don't quite buy that argument. Toyota always had multiple large diesel engines that they could have plonked on to the Sienna. Fiat Chrysler does too. They just did not move fast or take calculated risks and investments like Kia did.

I spoke only about Honda. I didn't mention anything about Toyota or Fiat because, Toyota has their hands full with Innova/Fortuner and Fiat with their national engine.

[yd_gli]

As good as this car is, there isn't any real demand for it beyond the few thousand customers who hopefully will convert their bookings into actual purchases. This means it will remain a niche product used by 7-star hotels, consulates and a few adventurous well heeled road trip freaks.



If I was Kia, I would price this at cost or lower. Offset losses from this against profits from the Seltos. Price it at Innova levels or slightly lower, take over the market share and then localize heavily to bring profit levels up and let Indians get a proper VFM 8-9 seater MUV which they can aspire to. At this price, its just a window dresser like the Wrangler.



I drove this when I was in the US last. It is huge. By Indian standards its ginormous. For those intending to drive this in our cities/small towns... Godspeed!!

[romeomidhun]

While I also praise Carnival for the luxury it offers, I find its appearance plain boring. It looks very old-school and nowhere near the handsome Innova. There is no visual balance in the side profile for the bonnet-passenger cabin sizes.

[Cooltronics]

In my opinion, it is an excellent product and in an uncharted territory which had no products before this.
This will help families, who are not too price conscious, have relatively high travel for business or leisure, and Innova Crysta being their only hope right now.
However, it is important to note that apart from price, Innova brand carries a legacy which is untouched by anyone by miles

a) Captain Seat Comfort - Goes without saying that this is one of the best in the world at the moment and I know few who have X5, GLE in their garage but still prefer Innova for their daily inter city drives owing to this comfort and not cost

b) Longevity - Innova runs for miles and miles. We have seen this in our threads and also on roads - 4lac -7Lac Innova's running without a jerk, niggle or break downs

If Carnival is able to provide comfort, peace of mind in the Innova league, forget exceeding it - its here to stay

[jayguar]

Originally Posted by yd_gli

Price it at Innova levels or slightly lower, take over the market share and then localize heavily to bring profit levels up and let Indians get a proper VFM 8-9 seater MUV which they can aspire to. At this price, its just a window dresser like the Wrangler.

The Carnival is already heavily localized. Pricing it on par or lower than Innova will not work out in the long term. When price is normalized at a later stage, the price increase will look absurd and that will lead to a downfall.

[Stribog]

Originally Posted by turboNath

If KIA can promise a rock solid reliability in the Indian market, I think it can become a potential Innova killer especially targeted towards people who were erstwhile considering the top trim of the Innova. Looks smashing ! It will be refreshing to see this mammoth MPV sharing our roads with the decades old Innova !

In the mass market cab segment, I think the Innova killer is proving to be the Ertiga (I know they are entirely different segments), but the Carnival will never sell the volumes the Innova did and does. Look at the numbers, Crysta sells an average of 70,000 units a year, the Carnival despite it being newly launched has managed 3,500 (half of the normal monthly volume of the Crysta approx), the bulk of it being the super pricey Limo segment which possibly is for personal use.

No way a cab company can purchase a Kia at its prices and still be competitive in the "SUV" segment as opposed to those running Crystas and Ertigas.

[PrideRed]

Fleet operators will buy Carnivals, will use them to ferry expats, business visitors, tourists. Last week I saw a dozen of Toyota Hiace in our campus and all were used to ferry visitors! RTT has goo number of Hiace and I am sure they wont mind getting Carnival instead, which is available easily and will cost less.

[LTAutoMad]

Kia has done the right thing by pricing the Carnival at a premium to the Innova - other than the fact that both are minivans, there is no comparison between the two. Its like comparing a Scorpio to an Endeavour. There is quite a large niche market that needs a spacious, luxury people mover. Not everyone needs a SUV with a butch image, but lots of compromises - there are customers at the other extreme who buy practical efficient vans, image be damned!

[OSH]

Looks like Kia does not want the Carnival to be seen as a taxi.

Kia has also stated that Carnival will be targeted at private owners and is not meant for taxi operators.

Source : Rushlane

Manohar also confirmed that the Carnival will not be given to the taxi segment.

Source : Financial Express

[poloman]

Originally Posted by OSH

Looks like Kia does not want the Carnival to be seen as a taxi.

This is exactly what Kia should be doing. An extended family of 6 or 7 who are looking for a comfortable MPV had only the option of Innova so far. I know personally many people who are not comfortable owning Innova due to its taxi image. They will surely go for Carnival.

Thread after thread I am seeing BHPians ranting about the pricing for new launches. The same thing happened when Seltos was launched. But that turned out to be a major success. Ordinary people don't seem to think the way opinion is formulated here. Looks like some were expecting Carnival in Ertiga price band..It is time we show some maturity while discussing the pricing.

[Turbanator]

I checked this today at Expo. Sat in the rear seat and I believe we sit lower "into" the seat and not "on" the seat like on Innova. Most guys appreciate the sofa like seating on Innova and it helps on long distances.

Here's a picture, I don't have an Innova here but will try to find on one this week. But my gut feeling says that it's definitely lower.

[yd_gli]

Originally Posted by jayguar

The Carnival is already heavily localized. Pricing it on par or lower than Innova will not work out in the long term. When price is normalized at a later stage, the price increase will look absurd and that will lead to a downfall.

The term "heavily localized" varies tremendously from one OEM to another. Do you know what % of the car is localized? For some 10% is heavy and for another even 75% is not heavy enough. And even then the numbers are usually padded up for PR. OEM localization targets are usually on the order of decades for the company as a whole.Hence, for Kia to say that Carnival is heavily localized is to be taken with salt especially since neither they or Hyundai had an earlier version of the Carnival in India to localize on.