April 27, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Kia Motors on March 13 took the wraps off its upgraded Carnival minivan in the domestic market to boost sales.

The front-wheel drive New Carnival comes with a 2.2-liter diesel or a 3.3-liter gasoline engine, as well as an eight-speed automatic transmission, Kia Motors said in a statement.

A set of safety features added to the top-selling minivan includes lane departure warning, blind-spot collision warning and front collision avoidance systems, it said.

The New Carnival, which controls 95 percent of the local minivan market, is priced at 29 million won (US$27,000) to 39 million won, the company said.

In the January-February period, Kia sold 7,765 Carnivals, down 25 percent from 10,403 units a year earlier. In the first two months of 2018, the carmaker said its overall vehicle sales fell 2 percent on-year to 402,310 units from 410,478.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)