Kia’s plucky Tasman truck, launched final 12 months, was thought of successful regardless of its polarizing design. And Kia is celebrating by releasing a second pickup truck: an electrical car that, in contrast to the Tasman, is coming to North America.
“Kia plans to introduce an EV pickup truck primarily based on a brand new EV platform designed for each city and out of doors use,” the corporate stated in April. “The car will function best-in-class inside and cargo area, a strong towing system, off-road capabilities and superior infotainment and security options.”
Particulars proper now are pretty slim however some conclusions could be drawn from Kia’s statements: The inclusion of off-road capabilities will set the upcoming EV other than the Hyundai Santa Fe, which is presently the one pickup truck Kia or its sister firm sells within the US proper now.
It’s going to be on a brand new EV platform so it will even be set other than the corporate’s present EV choices, just like the Kia EV6. The infotainment will seemingly be just like present mannequin Kia EVs and autos, just like the dual-display know-how within the more moderen Kia Sportage SUVs.
Kia final week additionally showcased its extra inexpensive EV sedan, with CNET readily available to see the 2026 Kia EV4.
Kia EV pickup truck: Will it succeed within the US?
Per the assertion, Kia is anticipating to promote roughly 90,000 of those new EV pickups per 12 months, a lofty purpose in a market the place the Ford F-150 Lightning is barely hitting 30,000 items bought. By most accounts, it is an formidable gross sales purpose to hit for a car that’ll characterize Kia’s first try at appeasing the US truck purchaser market. Nevertheless, there’s nonetheless room for optimism.
“The fashions constructed on the eGMP line bought over 100K items in 2024,” stated Liz Najman, director of market insights at Recurrent, an organization that gives unbiased insights on EV efficiency. “Furthermore, just like the EV6, Kia pickups will seemingly be made within the US, serving to keep away from expensive tariffs that may drive up costs for customers. It’s seemingly that value shall be a significant factor for customers within the coming years.”
Najman additionally stated that vehicles had been the 2 top-selling autos in 2024, so it is potential that Kia can attain its gross sales objectives, offered that the automaker can hit that candy spot of aggressive pricing and functionality.
“Electrical autos are seeing robust gross sales numbers once they ship on what clients need,” Najman stated, highlighting that in electrical automobile gross sales, the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the Jeep Wrangler PHEV every bought greater than 50,000 items in 2024 and the Mannequin 3 and the Mannequin Y bought greater than 150,000 and 370,000 items, respectively.
