- Kia says the Tasman pickup revealed on Oct. not for the US market
- The brand has not yet decided to pick up the US-bound Kia electrics
- Push for more hybrids and PHEVs may lead the way for the truck
Kia is still considering a pickup truck in the US, but whether that will be a gasoline-powered truck or an EV is yet to be determined, according to two top US executives from the brand at the Los Angeles auto show last week.
In any case, that download he can't be Tasmanwhich was unveiled in October and is initially aimed at Australia, Africa, and the Middle East.
The Tasman, a classic body style tasman listed in mid-range petrol with a live rear axle and an available diesel engine, has a polished cabin but fits the mold of a workhorse.
“The Tasman is not for this market,” Kia CEO and VP Steven Center said Thursday in an interview with Green Car Reports. But that doesn't mean there might be a separate fuel truck that might be, the official explained.
2025 Kia EV9
Meanwhile, the Kia electric pickup previously confirmed as still in development, and sharing some of its underpinnings with the EV9, it's no American shoo-in either.
“We haven't decided if we're going to bring it,” Kia America chief marketing officer Russell Wager said in a separate interview for the LA show, adding that an electric truck is always “a possibility.”
The doubt may have something to do with how such a truck can be positioned. In 2022, when the company first confirms Kia's global electrification project, Wager told Green Car Reports that to make sense in North America such a model would have to be positioned as a premium electric truck, not a premium one. model at a low price.
Kia EV Teaser
Factor in what already looks to be a market glut of fully electric van entries at a premium price, and it's easy to see why Kia is cautious in this area. The high-end electric truck market has grown and includes models from Ford, Chevrolet, GMC, Rivian, and Tesla—and high-end electric trucks from Ram and VW's Scout brand are also on the way.
Further blurring the picture was news from South Korean business firm Pulse that came out last week during our interview at the LA auto show: Hyundai Motor Group and General Motors are reportedly following suit. joint development of an affordable van in Latin America, and perhaps beyond. Under the memorandum of understanding this is built on, GM and Hyundai are also collaborating on EV and hydrogen tech, as well as identification, but it's unclear if the pieces will fit together.
The answer, for Kia and its US-bound van, may lie somewhere in between, between a fully electric truck and a throwback like the Tasman—and perhaps involve a long-rumored product related to the Hyundai Santa Cruz, from its corporate cousin. . Kia plans to add more plug-in hybrids and hybrids in the lineup—with more models, sales volume, and electric range, and even a modest EV lineup with an extended range. Either of those options could give Kia and its customers some of the high-end value the truck market is currently lacking.