Kia confirmed a North American-bound electrical pickup is coming.
The automaker desires to promote 90,000 items per 12 months, greater than double F-150 Lightning gross sales
This means the brand new EV will probably be smaller and cheaper than Ford’s providing.
Kia is growing an all-new electrical pickup particularly for North America, the Korean automaker confirmed throughout its CEO Investor Day Occasion immediately. The still-unnamed EV will probably be primarily based on a brand new EV platform “designed for each city and out of doors use.”
Particulars are nonetheless scarce, however the automaker emphasised that its new utilitarian EV will characteristic best-in-class inside and cargo house, in addition to a “strong towing system,” superior infotainment options and a few off-road chops.
Kia didn’t say how huge its new electrical American pickup could be, but it surely talked about an annual gross sales goal of 90,000 items and a market share of seven%. This implies the work EV will most likely be smaller than the likes of the Ford F-150 Lightning and Tesla Cybertruck, that are thought of full-size vehicles. Collectively, the Lightning and Cybertruck bought fewer than 73,000 items final 12 months.
It is unclear whether or not this EV truck might be associated to the Kia Tasman, pictured above, or one thing else totally.
It may find yourself being an EV9-sized pickup, similar to the bizarre mule that was noticed testing in america final 12 months. That prototype was roughly the scale of an EV9—it even had EV9 headlights, though the taillights have been lifted straight from the Santa Cruz.
To be clear, this electrical pickup is totally different from the combustion-powered Tasman and the PV5 business EV. The previous is just not coming to the U.S., whereas the destiny of the latter is presently below an enormous query mark amid the tariff turmoil.
Kia didn’t say the place the North American-bound electrical pickup could be manufactured. Logic dictates that both the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) in Georgia or the Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG) facility could be liable for constructing the brand new EV. Nevertheless, that has not been confirmed by Kia.
The automaker mentioned that Korea will function its international hub for EV improvement and manufacturing, whereas North America will give attention to mid-to-large SUVs and Europe will deal with compact SUVs and hatchbacks. If the brand new electrical pickup is much like the EV9, it could be best for Kia to construct it at its KMMG plant as each fashions may theoretically share the identical meeting line.
Kia didn’t specify a launch date for the North American-bound battery-powered pickup, however studying between the traces, it’s simple to invest the EV will debut earlier than the tip of the last decade. That’s as a result of the pickup is a part of Kia’s up to date Plan S technique which outlines the corporate’s mid-to-long-term marketing strategy till 2030.
Talking of the tip of the last decade, the Korean automaker desires to promote a complete of 4.19 million automobiles globally by 2030, with 1.26 million being all-electric fashions. To fulfill the demand, Kia plans to extend its international manufacturing capability by 17% from 3.63 million items this 12 months to 4.25 million items by 2030.
