Kia Tasman ute: Bold sales targets revealed

Kia Australia executives have shared more details about the brand’s much-anticipated ute, which it could potentially be called Tasman.

Building on what we already know, Car Expert has obtained information on when the ute will arrive, how many segment parts Kia Australia expects it to have, where it will be produced and how involved Australia is with development.

Here are the title details

• The ute was known internally as “TK”
• It can be called Tasman
• It is being benchmarked against the Ford Ranger, Volkswagen Amarok and Toyota HiLux
• Power will come from a diesel engine
• It is expected to arrive in Australia in 2025
• Kia aims for 10 percent of the light commercial vehicle market
• It will be built in Korea

The new Ute will close a huge gap in the Australian brand’s line-up, and potentially propel Kia to a new level in the sales charts – potentially overtaking Mazda in the race for second place, behind market leader Toyota.

What’s that?

The Kia ute – known internally as the TK – is one of two upcoming pickup trucks coming from the brand, likely as the vehicle was referred to as a “strategic model for emerging markets” by company executives last year. The other will be a dedicated electric ute.

TK is just an internal code name at this stage, and the new ute could receive the Tasman name according to a recent trademark filing submitted to IP Australia. It is the only new vehicle name Kia has trademarked in the past 12 months.

According to a Kia dealer briefed on the vehicle, the company is benchmarking the TK against the segment-leading Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux “to achieve towing capacity and payload targets”.

“If you dissect the market and look at where the key areas are, who are the key benchmarks, and that has grown, obviously, in recent years,” Kia Australia general manager of product planning Roland Rivero said.

“When we started the conversation there was no brand new Ranger. That already happened, and so did Amarok.

“It is critical [Kia executives] understand who the key benchmarks are [for] characteristic, delaying capacity.”

“I think we are very aware of what is coming and we are also aware of how long the typical life of a light commercial vehicle is,” added Mr Rivero.

“[The Kia ute] must have longevity and it must be suitable for our market.”

Mr. Rivero also confirmed that the ute will be manufactured in Korea.

When is the Kia ute coming to Australia?

The production version of the Kia ute will arrive in 2025, five years after its development began.

“We are confident that within the next 24 to 36 months it will be in Australia,” Kia Australia product planning general manager Roland Rivero said.

Mr Rivero added that “many visitors have made the trip” to Australia to experience the local competitors and conditions.

A “substantial” amount of work on the ute had been done in Australia, he said, “although there was a lot of work to be done”.

“It’s no different to any other new R&D project, so while it’s evolving, it’s also flexible,” Kia Australia drive and handling engineer Graeme Gambold said.

“Concrete won’t be fixed until you get to production and lock those specs in. It’s a long way off.”

“It’s been a bit of a moving target in terms of spec and design and price, but all those things are constantly bubbling in the background,” Kia Australia CEO Damien Meredith said.

“We said in the beginning [of ute development] over the past year, in 2018 or whatever, that we think we can sell where we’ve taken the brand and where we’ve developed the dealer network, we believe we can probably still be 10 percent of the LCV market.”

For context, the Isuzu D-Max, in 4×2 and 4×4 guises, accounted for about 10 percent of this segment last year.

What is the power of the Kia TK ute?

Based on recently leaked information, Car Expert can confirm the production version of the Kia ute will be powered by a diesel engine, although details on capacity and cylinder count remain unknown.

The fact that the Kia Mohave SUV was used as the basis for the prototype could offer some clues, however.

In Korea, the Mohave is powered by a 3.0 liter turbo-diesel V6 engine that produces 189kW of power and 560Nm of torque. For reference, the 3.0 liter turbo-diesel V6 in the Ranger and Amarok produces 184kW and 600Nm.

The Mohave offers four-wheel drive with electronic low range and multiple terrain modes just like Kia’s other SUVs. An eight-speed automatic is standard.

Kia has tuned its latest 3.0-litre diesel to the Euro 6 standard, bringing it in line with emissions regulations that may soon be coming to Australia, and are now coming into effect in other markets around the world. Some utes are now EU6 certified in Australia.

We could see Kia offer multiple engines to hit different price points and regional demand, with the brand’s 2.2-liter four-cylinder turbo-diesel another potential starter.

The commercial version of this engine currently services the Hyundai Staria van, producing 130kW/430Nm and mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. In the Staria it gets standard all-wheel drive, but it’s unclear whether Kia will stick with this drive or develop a more robust 4WD system like the Mohave.

What price will Kia bring?

As mentioned above, mention of the Ranger and HiLux as benchmarks suggests Kia is working to deliver a braked towing capacity of at least 3500kg.

It’s understood the Mohave is already capable of towing over 3.0 tons, so there’s already a solid base there.

All of Kia’s main ute competitors offer a braked towing capacity of 3.5 tonnes, including the Ranger, HiLux, D-Max, BT-50, Amarok and Navara.

Currently, the vehicle in Kia’s local lineup with the largest towing capacity is the Sorento SUV, which can haul up to 2000kg with a braked trailer.

Are you excited about the upcoming Kia ute? Let us know in the comments below.

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