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April 9, 2025 at 10:01
Kia has revealed it’s constructing an electrical pickup for the North American market.
The truck will likely be constructed round a brand new EV platform and beat rivals for house.
Kia guarantees superior infotainment and security options, plus off-road skill.
Kia’s EV rollout reveals no signal of slowing down, and the automaker isn’t scared to push into segments it’s by no means performed in earlier than, together with electrical vans. The Korean firm confirmed that it could launch an electrical pickup in North America, and it must be right here inside the subsequent couple of years.
Associated: Kia Confirms First Midsize Pickup For America
Vehicles are constantly a number of the best-selling autos within the US, and though Kia doesn’t have any on sale in America, it just lately revealed the aesthetically-challenged Tasman that’s already earmarked on the market in Australia, one other nation of truck lovers.
Skipping the Tasman, Straight to EV
But it surely seems like Kia isn’t fascinated by bringing the Ford Ranger-rivaling Tasman to the US, and can as a substitute soar straight into the electrical pickup market with a completely totally different truck. We already knew, because of a spy video captured final yr by Kindel Auto, that an EV was in improvement, with the prototype displaying a extra standard Kia front-end design, and intel suggesting body-on-frame building.
No particulars on its dimension got at this time, however Kia CEO Ho Sung Track had beforehand expressed a want to promote a mid-size truck to the US – one that may be constructed within the US, in all probability at Hyundai’s Georgia plant, to keep away from each the older Rooster tax on imported gentle vans and Trumps new import tariffs. Hyundai ought to get its personal model of the pickup.
Kia’s assertion says the pickup will likely be constructed on a brand new platform and be ‘designed for each city and out of doors use.’ It described the mannequin as ‘progressive,’ claiming it could have best-in-class inside and cargo house, a ‘sturdy’ towing system, be succesful off highway and have superior media and security methods.
Huge Targets in a Small Market
Kia says its long-term objective is 90,000 annual gross sales and a 7 % market share of the general truck market. Ford solely bought 7,187 examples of the F-150 Lightning in Q1, and Tesla shifted fewer than 12,000 Cybertrucks, so Kia is admittedly aiming excessive with its new electrical hauler.
However electrical pickup selections are few and much between, and there are actually no choices for anybody wanting a midsize or smaller electrical truck, that means Kia might be taking pictures at an open objective if it will get the factor to market shortly.
However how shortly it’ll come, Kia didn’t say. Based mostly on final yr’s spy photographs, we’d say a 2026 or 2027 debut seems sensible. We’re hoping it has a number of the butch perspective of the brand new Tasman Weekender revealed this week (pictured beneath), however we’re nonetheless undecided about that face.
The Kia Tasman Weekender idea examine.
