The First Pickup Truck from Kia Is On The Way
Kia Tasman will arrive in less than two weeks at the Jeddah International Motor Show, and it will target the Middle East, Africa, and Australia.
After months of teasers, the Kia Tasman’s reveal date is set for two weeks from today at the 2024 Jeddah International Motor Show. The South Korean Pickup Truck will be unveiled on October 29, and to ease the wait, there are a bunch of new shadowy images.
Although Kia keeps everything under wraps, there is a good chance the pickup won’t fly under the radar since it appears to have an angular design with boxy wheel arches. The vertical headlights seem to take after those of the EV9 or Telluride. At the rear, a vast Kia logo could be stamped onto the tailgate above a generously sized Tasman script.
The Tasman won’t be mechanically related to the Hyundai Santa Cruz. Instead, it’ll be underpinned by a dedicated body-on-frame platform rather than having a unibody construction. The Tasman is expected to have a 3500kg towing capacity when it arrives to compete with the likes of Ford Ranger or Mitsubishi Triton rather than the more car-like Maverick
Kia has not revealed the technical details of the Tasman yet, but a 2.2-litre turbo diesel four-cylinder adapted from the Sorento is expected to find its way underneath the hood, which you’ll notice is curved at the sides. Both 4×2 and 4×4 configurations are planned.Â
Although The Tasman will primarily target the Middle East, Africa, and Australia, a prototype was spotted testing in the United States. The truck will be assembled in South Korea.
A test mule of another pickup, a fully electric one, was also seen in the US a few months ago.
Two electric Kia trucks will be launched by 2027. One is a dedicated EV pickup, and the other is a strategic model for emerging markets. Logic tells us the former will be a production version of that electric test mule, while the latter will be an EV version of the Tasman.
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