CKD Malaysia 2022 Kia Carnival heads to Thailand next, ASEAN exports to follow

• 11-seater Kia Carnival set to be CKD soon
• To be sold alongside 7-, 8-seater variants
• Set for export to Thailand and other ASEAN countries too

The 2022 Kia Carnival 11-seater – first introduced in Malaysia fully-imported (CBU) from Korea – will soon be locally-assembled (CKD Kulim, Kedah) here, to be sold alongside the CKD 7- and 8-seater variants. It will also be exported to the Thailand and ASEAN markets.

"CKD programmes for the 11-seater has been initiated, basically for export to ASEAN countries," said Dato' Sri Ben Yeoh, Bermaz Auto executive chairman. Taking advantage of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), he added that movement of the model from Malaysia to "basically Thailand and any other ASEAN countries will not have a restriction in terms of volume, as well as in terms of taxation".

The Kia Carnival currently sold in Thailand are all imported from Korea.

For now, as the company prepares the CKD programme to comply with the 40% cost content for export purposes, the 11-seater variant will still be imported from Korea.

"Once we are able to meet the demand and at the same time improve our production capacity, we will stop importing this vehicle, and supply similar [volume] from the factory for export, as well as the domestic market," he added.

Also read: Here's exactly what you're getting with the CKD Kia Carnival that starts from RM 231k

The production capacity at the Inokom plant in Kulim, Kedah, is a total of 8,000 units per year.

Dato' Sri Ben Yeoh added that the 11-seater Carnival caters to buyers who need to carry more passengers, or for use in the service industry. The 7- and 8-seaters, meanwhile, will better suit customers looking for an alternative from Japanese rivals.

Also read: Kia: CKD cars in Malaysia now cost 3x more to make than 10 years ago, higher material cost and increased vehicle complexity

We've driven the 11-seater before, and left thoroughly impressed by it. The new, three-row variants, add a healthier kit list and bumps up the feature list in more ways than one – watch this space for the review coming soon.

The 2022 Kia Carnival (KA4) range is priced in Malaysia as follows:

Also read: Review: 2022 Kia Carnival – So much metal for RM 196k but can you handle its size