The carmaker wants to sell 20,000 units of its diesel-powered pickup truck in Australia every year
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- Kia will launch the Tasman, its first pickup truck, in 2025, with a focus on the Australian market, known for its preference for double cabs.
- Australia’s best-selling new vehicle last year was the same-sized Ford Ranger, followed by the Toyota Hilux.
- The company recognizes the challenge of entering this crowded segment, but plans to offer a diesel-powered option with towing and payload capacity suitable for both professional and family use.
Kia officials have revealed that while the newly confirmed 2025 Tasman will be available in parts of the Middle East, Africa, South America and Asia, the automaker’s focus is on Australia with its first mid-size pickup truck.
Much of the vehicle’s development took place Down Under and it takes its name from the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand. Kia describes it as the most Australian Kia model ever and when it launches next year it will compete with the Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux and Isuzu D-Max, the country’s three best-selling new vehicles.
Read: 2025 Kia Tasman announced as the brand’s first pickup truck
Australia’s love of pickup trucks, or double cabs as they are known locally, has exploded since Ford and Holden stopped building cars in the country, destroying the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon, which were regularly the country’s top two best-selling cars.
Kia admits it won’t be easy to convince buyers to buy an unproven pickup. It has an annual sales target of 20,000, Bloomberg Reportedly significantly less than the 63,400 Ford Rangers and 61,100 Toyota Hilux models sold last year.
“We logically felt that the next step in our growth and presence in the Australian landscape was to add the product that most Australians drive,” Kia Australia general manager of product planning Roland Rivero told Bloomberg.
“It will of course be very difficult, we have very established competitors who have been doing this for decades. There is definitely an opportunity to convince some of these customers by looking at existing ute competitors,” Rivero added.
Kia will look to broaden the Tasman’s appeal by ensuring it is suitable for local tradespeople who often buy pickup trucks for work use, while also being suitable as a weekend family vehicle. It has a towing capacity of 3.5 tons, a payload of at least one ton and meets the requirements of a fleet vehicle. It is also sold with a diesel powertrain, a popular option for the country’s dual cabs.
As the Korean company continues development of the new model, our spy photographers captured it testing it in cold conditions. Like other prototypes we’ve seen, this one sports black body cladding, but some key elements of its design are visible, such as the roofline, the shape of the side windows and the overall boxy and robust shape. The bed also appears to be generously sized, a feature that will no doubt appeal to Australian buyers.
Kia Australia has confirmed the integration of a diesel powertrain for the Tasman, likely the brand’s 2.2-liter CRDi four-cylinder engine already used in the Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento, producing 199 hp (149 kW / 202 hp) and 325 pounds performs. ft (441 Nm) maximum torque. It should be equipped with an automatic transmission and switchable all-wheel drive. There’s also potential for a larger 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 option. Kia is reportedly targeting a towing capacity of 3,500 kg (7,716 lbs) and a payload of 1,000 kg (2,204 lbs) for the Tasman.
The status of the Kia Tasman’s entry into the North American market remains uncertain, largely due to the hurdles posed by the infamous “chicken tax,” which imposes a hefty 25 percent fee on imported trucks, making them too expensive for the United States .
