Launched in February 2022, the Kia Carens has been a key growth driver, with the new Clavis and Clavis EV fueling 25% YoY growth in H1 FY2026.
13 Nov 2025 | 4215 Views | By Ajit Dalvi
The Kia Carens premium MPV, launched in India on February 15, 2022, has driven past the 250,000 sales mark in the domestic market. As per SIAM wholesales data, cumulative sales at the end of September 2015 are 252,613 units. Add 28,566 export units and the combined domestic and export sales ...
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The Kia Carens premium MPV, launched in India on February 15, 2022, has driven past the 250,000 sales mark in the domestic market. As per SIAM wholesales data, cumulative sales at the end of September 2015 are 252,613 units. Add 28,566 export units and the combined domestic and export sales of the Carens add up to 281,179 units.
With this, the Carens becomes the third made-in-India Kia utility vehicle to achieve over 250,000 sales, after the Seltos midsize SUV (575,947 units) and the Sonet compact SUV (460,034 units) at the end of the second quarter of FY2026.
The Carens, which is a versatile MPV with a usable third row of seats, has taken 44 months from launch till end-September 2025 to achieve this sales milestone. While the first 100,000 sales took 17 months, the next 100,000 units were sold in 20 months. The 200,000 milestone came up in early February this year, news which Autocar Professional broke and was confirmed by the company with an official press release. Notably, the last 50,000 units have been sold in a little less than eight months, the fresh momentum coming from the recently launched Carens Clavis and its zero-emission avatar, the Carens Clavis EV.
As per the wholesales data table (given below), FY2023 with 70,314 units was the Carens’ best fiscal, accounting for 26% of Kia India’s total sales of 269,229 vehicles. FY2024’s 63,167 units were down 10% YoY and the 64,609 units sold in FY2025 were up just 2% YoY. However, the current fiscal paints a very different and stronger growth story for the Carens brand.
Cumulative six-month wholesales of 41,831 units in first-half FY2026 (April-September 2025) have increased strongly by 25% YoY (H1 FY2025: 33,575 units) with the Carens, Carens Clavis and Clavis EV accounting for 32% of Kia India’s total H1 FY2026 sales of 131,006 units, more than the Seltos but the No. 2 model after the Sonet.
FY2023 with 70,314 units was the Carens’ best fiscal to date. With 41,831 units sold between April-September 2025, FY2026 bids fair to be the best yet for the three model-lineup Carens.
NEW CARENS CLAVIS AND CLAVIS EV PROVIDE THE FIREWORKS IN FIRST-HALF
The strong growth trajectory for the Carens model per se in the first six months of FY2026 can be attributed to the launch of the new Carens Clavis MPV, a more upmarket sibling of the popular Carens with more six- and seven-seater options, in May 2025. Two months later, Kia India upped the ante by introducing the mass-market Carens Clavis EV-MPV, the electric avatar of the Carens Clavis. Kia’s EV portfolio also contains the EV6 and EV9, which are imported as CBUs into the country and, as a result, are far more expensive than the made-in-India Carens Clavis EV.
A handsome market and customer response to both these two new models has given a new charge to the Carens in the competitive MPV market and took it to No. 3 position in the Top 10 MPVs in H1 FY2026, with a fair portion of the credit going to the recently launched zero-emission avatar.
Given that there are two well-entrenched rivals – the Maruti Ertiga and the Toyota Innova Crysta / Innova Hycross – in the ultra-competitive MPV market, this performance is noteworthy. In FY2024, with 63,167 units, the Carens was India’s third best-selling MPV and No. 17 in the Top 20 utility vehicles ranking.
CARENS’ SHARE OF KIA INDIA SALES SINCE ITS LAUNCH: 27%
Kia India has successfully positioned the Carens as a premium six- / seven-seater recreational vehicle with a blend of modern styling and features, and offered with six airbags as standard. The high-on-space and comfort Carens is targeted at large families scouting for a premium, spacious cabin as well as day-to-day practicality, and a choice of multiple powertrains including electric now.
The second MPV which Kia launched in India after the Carnival (which has recently been re-introduced), the Carens with 252,613 units has contributed to 27% of Kia India’s total cumulative sales of 941,819 utility vehicles since February 2022 since the model was launched.
Given the strong 25% YoY growth that the Carens is witnessing in the current fiscal, and having already achieved 65% of its FY2025 wholesales, FY2026 could see the model notch its best-ever fiscal sales. While it will surely surpass the FY2025 total, at the end of September 2025, the Carens was 28,483 units away from its best-ever fiscal total (FY2023: 70,314 units).
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