The Kia Carnival Hybrid, a sought-after model in the large recreational vehicle (RV) category, is experiencing a significant surge in new orders as popularity of hybrid cars grows in South Korea.

According to sources on Monday, the delivery time for the Carnival Hybrid, based on this month’s contracts, is expected to extend beyond a year for buyers to receive their vehicles.

This contrasts sharply with the gasoline version of the Carnival, which has a delivery waiting period of 3 to 4 months.

Interestingly, this situation is contrary to electric cars, where lackluster sales result in widespread discounts.

Last month, Kia introduced the New Carnival, a partially modified model of the 4th generation Carnival, featuring a 1.6 Turbo Hybrid system combining an engine and an electric motor.

The hybrid model, based on the Carnival 9-seater vehicle, starts at around 39.25 million won ($30,000), which is about 13 percent higher than the gasoline model starting at 34.7 million won.

The Carnival Hybrid is currently in the process of government certification and has yet to officially start sales.

It is reported that over 70 percent of the total pre-contract orders for the new Carnival consist of the hybrid model.

Consumers who had initially placed orders for the gasoline model before the release of the new Carnival are reportedly changing their contracts to the hybrid model after its release.

In 2020, when the 4th generation Carnival was launched, around 80 percent of the pre-contract orders were for the diesel model. However, due to increasingly stringent environmental regulations, the popularity of diesel models has waned.

Following the Carnival, the Kia Sorento Hybrid is currently the model with the longest waiting period after ordering, with a delivery waiting time of over 11 to 12 months.

The waiting periods for specific models are as follows: Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid at 9 months, Hyundai Sonata Hybrid at 7 months, and Kia Sportage Hybrid at 6 months.

Hyundai Motor Group sold a total of 1,220,564 vehicles in Korea from January to November this year, with hybrid models accounting for 258,258 units or 20.8 percent.

By Moon Gwang-min and Minu Kim

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]