Kia Design Boss Says Pickup Truck Teaser Coming Soon
Kia says a pickup truck is coming soon. Will it come our way?
Kia’s EV day wasn’t just a way for Kia to reveal its three latest EV ideas – Kia may have dropped some other news too. According to Carsales magazine in Australia, Kia says the first teaser of one of its EV pickups is coming very, very soon. Kia design boss Karim Habib told the magazine “I think you'll get a peek pretty soon.”
Interestingly, the Kia pickup truck likely won’t be a crossover-based unibody truck like the Hyundai Santa Cruz or Ford Maverick. No, at least one of Kia’s forthcoming pickups is expected to be a body-on-frame truck meant to go directly against the Ford Ranger. It’s not quite confirmed just yet, but trademark filings suggest that Kia’s pickup will be called “Tasman.” Kia’s Australian arm is deeply involved in the truck’s development. When it finally does launch, it’ll lead with diesel power for the Australian market, but an EV will quickly follow.
Now, the Australian market loves pickups that we consider compact here in North America. The Ranger and Toyota Hilux are top sellers, whereas here, full-sized pickups outsell their midsized and compact brethren. It’s not clear if Kia’s body-on-frame truck will come here, but, we think there’s a real chance. The Kia pickup is expected to use the same styling language as the recently unveiled EV3 and EV4 concepts, meaning, it’ll fit right into the lineup. If we don’t get this pickup, we could get the other EV pickup that Kia is working on, one that is expected to use a dedicated EV platform.
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Kevin has been obsessed with cars ever since he could talk. He even learned to read partially by learning and reading the makes and models on the back of cars, only fueling his obsession. Today, he is an automotive journalist and member of the Automotive Press Association. He is well-versed in electrification, hybrid cars, and vehicle maintenance.
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Look's great - now make it a hybrid and forget the EV idea!