Kia Carnival 2008 News

That decision is despite the European move away from the full-sized people-mover with the new mid-sized model. The new Rondo goes on show at this week’s Paris Motor Show.

Just a brief look into any junior sports club shows fewer people now do more to keep such clubs and teams afloat.

We collectively bought more than 82,000 vehicles last month, close enough to a 7 per cent rise over January 2007.Looking at it another way, contracts on 213 vehicles were signed for each of the 25 selling days in the month. That's a record over last year, which in itself was a record over 2006.Toyota remains king of the sales heap and the big movers were the small, medium and SUV sectors. Sales of large cars continued to plummet, which must be a worry to Ford as it prepares to launch its new Falcon.Mitsubishi, which is pulling out of manufacturing here, finished a distant sixth in the sales race, with Honda and Mazda both outselling the former car giant. So, according the industry statistician facts, who were the winners?Toyota's Yaris dominated the cheap and cheerful light market, with the Mazda2 and Honda Jazz also popular with buyers.The hotly contested small car market continues to be a bloody battleground. Toyota's Corolla was streets ahead of its opposition but the real fight was for the crumbs, with the Mazda3, Ford Focus and Honda Civic all doing well.The mid-sized market, which has been quiet, is picking up pace as buyers downsize. Most went for the Toyota Camry ahead of the Mazda6, with Subaru's Liberty a distant third.The large car market was a disaster for the local players. The Commodore was the best seller but it, along with the Falcon, Mitsubishi 380, Honda Accord and Hyundai Grandeur, lost ground.The star performer was Toyota's Aurion, which outsold the Falcon.Of the rest of the new car fleet, Honda's Odyssey beat the cheaper Kia Carnival in the people mover market, while the big surprise was in the SUV sector where Honda's CR-V outsold the Subaru Forester, Toyota's RAV 4 and recently launched Nissan X-Trail.The sales stats throw up some interesting facts and figures.Private buyers are taking a big liking to diesel engines (sales are up 82 per cent but still a low volume), while vehicles running on LPG are out of favour (down 64 per cent). Hybrid models enjoyed 11 per cent growth.And just to show how global the industry has become, last month we bought vehicles made in 23 countries. While most cars still come from Japan, there were models from the Czech Republic, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Turkey. 

The South Korean company is the category leader with its Carnival, which is just about to become a two-model run with a shorter version of its latest Grand Carnival, and can see a potential place for the smaller Carens. It has just been renewed, with Europe as the target because high-roofed family wagons are doing well there. The second-generation Carens has an all-new body, a range of engines - 2.0, 2.4 and 2.7-litre petrol, and 2.0-litre turbodiesel - and will be built with either five or seven seats. Kia has even given a choice of names, because the Carens will be called Rondo in North America. It was previewed last week in Spain at the Madrid Motor Show, reflecting the European emphasis, though it could work in Australia under the new factory-owned operation at Kia Motors Australia. "We're still looking and still thinking. It was only released last week and we have yet to see it in the metal," Kia Motors spokesman Jonathon Fletcher says. "We obviously need to understand where it could fit in the Australian market and if we could bring it at a price that is suitable. And if there is sufficient demand." He says Kia can see the potential in Australia for people movers thanks to its ongoing success with the Carnival. "We obviously have the market-leading vehicle in the Carnival, and that's now extended to the Grand Carnival," Fletcher says. "A short-wheelbase model is coming later this year so we need to be mindful of the market sector we're talking to." But one thing is certain, the Carens would not compete with the Carnival. "If we took it then it wouldn't come as a seven-seater. So we need to know if it will fit into the small-wagon market, or somewhere else. And also the competitors and if the price benefit will stand up." The new Carens is longer, wider and taller than the previous model and has a new body. Kia also says it has been designed as much as a crossover vehicle as a people mover. Though Carens is still a question market, it would probably come with a diesel engine because Kia is joining the push into diesel power in Australia. "We're obviously looking at a diesel Sportage and Sorento and we'd very much like to bring them, possibly later in the year. So when we're evaluating Carens we'll look at petrol and diesel," Fletcher says.