Kia branched out into the body-on-frame midsize pickup market with the form of goofy-looking Tasman. Kia has confirmed that the Tasman won’t come to the US. However that doesn’t imply the American market will not get a brand new Kia pickup truck. Kia CEO Ho Sung Music spoke to Automotive Information on the Seoul Mobility Present and confirmed that Kia is seeking to construct a pickup truck for the U.S. and can reveal extra particulars quickly.
Key Takeaways
- Kia broke into the midsize truck phase with the Tasman
- The model confirmed the Tasman shouldn’t be coming to America
- However Kia is planning a distinct truck for America
- It might be an electrical truck that Kia alluded to in its 2030 product roadmap
- And it might be constructed at Hyundai’s new Metaplant in Georgia
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Kia’s New American Truck Is Not The Tasman
Music informed Automotive Information that Kia would have extra particulars about its U.S.-bound pickup truck “subsequent week;” Kia has its Investor Day presentation scheduled for April ninth. Music didn’t present any extra data concerning the truck. However he did reiterate that the brand new American truck wouldn’t be the Tasman.
“We don’t develop that automobile for the American market,” Music mentioned.
“However within the meantime, we at the moment are severely learning find out how to get into the pickup truck market in the US by way of a distinct mannequin that isn’t the Tasman.”
Will Kia’s New American Truck Be Electrical?
Kia quasi-confirmed an electrical pickup for America when it delivered its 2030 product street map throughout an Investor Day presentation in 2022. The model famous, “in the US, the place mid-sized SUVs and pickups are fashionable, electrical variations of those fashions will likely be produced domestically from 2024.” Native manufacturing could be crucial given the brand new tariff regime. A yet-to-be-named Kia automobile will enter manufacturing at Hyundai’s new Metaplant in Georgia in 2026. And that plant will specialise in EVs.
Kia’s company sibling, Hyundai, can be curious about getting into the American midsize pickup market. Nevertheless, that proposed truck could be a rebadged model of the Chevrolet Colorado and be constructed by Normal Motors.
TopSpeed’s Take
Kia has been on a roll in America this decade. The model has not been shy about getting into new segments with standouts like the Telluride SUV or creating new segments with the three-row, all-electric EV9 SUV. International manufacturers face far much less of a gross sales headwind constructing midsize vans — as the Toyota Tacoma has proven — than full-size vans.
Kia does not have Toyota’s vaunted fame for reliability and sturdiness, which helps its truck gross sales. However the model does have a fame as a serious participant within the EV house. The midsize truck phase is crying out for one thing even resembling an environment friendly possibility. And there might be a gap for Kia if it could actually get an electrical truck on the street earlier than Toyota does.
