Kia has a secret weapon under its long-awaited Tasman pick-up, and it’s set to electrify the mid-sized ute market – starting with Australia!
Expected to launch within a short period after the regular diesel-powered versions hit out streets from the latter part of 2025 or early the following year, the Tasman Electrified Ute will join what will likely be a steadily growing number of electric vehicle (EV) utes by then.
With Ford already working hard to electrify the Ranger and Mitsubishi with Nissan reportedly well advanced on their respective next-generation Triton and Navara EV utes, Kia is understood to be well down a similar development path, to create the ultimate technological flagship.
According to Kia Motors Australia (KMAu) head of product planning, Roland Rivero, the brand’s 2022 roadmap to electrification over the next four years, laid out at a CEO Investor Forum early last year, provides a big hint to what’s coming.
“The term that (Kia Corporation president and CEO , Ho Hung Song) used was that there are two (electric utes coming) – a dedicated EV for North America, and one for developing markets,” he revealed.
“Make of that what you will… you can join the dots.”
Rivero added that KMAu is willing to pull out all stops for the Tasman to make a maximum impact with Australian consumers in a crowded ute class.
“We’ve dissected that category, that segment, 4×2 and 4×4 pick-ups, and we’re mindful of where the big opportunities are,” he revealed.
“Our intention as a brand is to ensure that if we are going to play in that category, that we’ve got to do the right thing by this new product and make sure that it is successful.
“HQ has helped us and supported us on this journey, and our goal is to ensure that that decision they made to support this product is one they’ll look back and say: ‘It was a great decision to bring a ute to the Kia brand’.”
As Kia’s own press release that followed the 2022 Investor Forum hinted at, the Tasman EV ute will form part of the company’s 14-strong EV line-up by 2027, starting this year with two per annum (EV9 three-row SUV and the smaller China-only EV5 version).
“Kia will add two electric pick-up trucks – a dedicated electric pick-up truck and a strategic model for emerging markets…,” the report stated.
But going electric will not compromise what the Tasman will fundamentally be – a dependable, strong and capable dual-cab workhorse, according to one Kia insider.
To that end, and despite being an EV, we understand that it will include a big (likely 100kWh-plus by today’s standards) battery pack offering in excess of 500km of range, while still meeting medium ute segment requirements with 3000kg-plus of towing capacity.
Plus, as we’ve reported earlier, the entire ute project is undergoing an Australian-market localisation program, with suspension, steering and handling tuning to ensure acceptable dynamic and refinement behaviour.
It’s also been speculated that two turbo-diesel engines will form the mainstay of the Tasman range, at least in its initial period on sale, with Kia’s venerable 2.2-litre four-cylinder unit that currently produces 157kW and 420Nm, as well as a 3.0-litre six-pot engine bringing over 200kW and nearly 600Nm of pulling power.
Whether referring to these engines or the EV, the Tasman is also electrifying KMAu as it expands in sales and scope in this country, while putting the Australian team under the scrutiny and spotlight of an expectant parent company in South Korea.
“This is probably the most exciting time ever for Kia, in regards to product and in regards to the growth potential of the brand,” according to KMAu Chief Operating Officer, Damien Meredith.
“As they say in the classics, we can’t muck this up. We have to be incredibly smart and strategic, and when we launch certain products and when we hold back certain products to make sure some products have clear air to develop and make their mark, then that’s really the challenge we have at the moment.
“We really have to make sure they all get their fair share of opportunity. But it’s incredibly exciting and the growth potential is as exciting.”
Of course, the Tasman won’t be Australia’s first EV ute. That honour goes to the LDV eT60 Dual Cab pickup launched last year from $92,990 before on-road costs.
Keyword: Kia Tasman electric ute set to shape the expanding EV pick-up scene in Australia - will it beat Ford Ranger and Mitsubishi Triton EVs to market?