Kia drops most affordable Carnival engine option for Australia

Kia Australia will temporarily close orders for all V6 petrol variants of its popular Carnival MPV, due to tight supply and a growing bank of backorders.

“Supply of the 3.5-litre V6 Carnival continues to be a problem,” said Roland Rivero, product planning boss at Kia Australia.

“It’s the powertrain of choice for North America, therefore they consume the lion’s share of production. We’ve only just recently removed the [Carnival Special Edition V6] from the website to curtail orders, and shortly other trim variants will follow.”

A spokesperson from Kia Australia told CarExpert the company’s focus now is to fulfil all existing orders for V6 petrol variants of its top-selling people mover.

Kia Australia has been dealing with supply delays on the Carnival V6 petrol for a while now.

A spokesperson from Kia Australia told CarExpert last October the brand’s local arm didn’t expect to see any relief for V6 petrol supply for the remainder of 2022.

“In contrast, supply of the diesel Carnival will continue to be strong for the foreseeable future. We are working with our dealers to convert customers who are in the queue for a V6 Carnival, and effectively co-funding an incentive to entice them to switch,” a spokesperson from Kia Australia told CarExpert.

In February 2023, Kia Australia introduced the Carnival Special Edition to combat semiconductor shortages that crippled the flagship Platinum, which accounts for a healthy share of sales.

At the time, the SE model was offered with a choice of either the 3.5-litre V6 petrol or a 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel.

A spokesperson from Kia Australia told CarExpert the Special Edition variant will not be available with the Carnival facelift that is due go into production during the first quarter of 2024.

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