2025 Kia Tasman ute reveal date finally confirmed? Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux rival's global debut coming soon: report

Has Kia finally locked in a reveal date for its long-awaited Tasman ute?

According to South Korean automotive website, The Korean Carblog, the Tasman has been slated for an October 29 "world premiere" at the Jeddah motor show in Saudi Arabia, a key market for the Tasman alongside Australia.

An official statement from a Kia Australia spokesperson did not confirm or deny the report, stating: "Details of the highly anticipated world premiere of the Kia Tasman have not yet been announced, however, it has previously been confirmed it will occur before the end of the year."

Kia has been teasing the Tasman for months, with promotional videos showing the ute undergoing extensive testing across rugged locations across the globe, including Australia.

Details on the Tasman have been relatively scarce so far, but Kia Australia – which is having a major hand in the Tasman’s development – has previously revealed to Carsguide some of what to expect.

Kia Australia’s Head of Product Planning, Roland Rivero, told CarsGuide there are a suite of non-negotiables that include a five-star ANCAP safety rating, a 3500kg brake towing capacity and greater than one-tonne payload.

Two-wheel drive and four-wheel-drive variants are expected.

It is likely to carry the 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel engine currently used in the Sorento SUV, which is capable of 148kW/440Nm.

CarsGuide also understands that a 2.5-litre turbo-petrol option could also be on the cards, though this appears more likely to be offered in international markets. Having said that, no powertrain has been confirmed by Kia as of yet.

It was previously rumoured to carry a V6 engine to rival the Ford Ranger and Volkswagen Amarok, although Rivero poured cold water on this idea back in July.

"What we’ll launch with is the volume areas of the category, and I think you’ll find that of the 63,000 Rangers that were sold last year and the 61,000 HiLuxes sold last year there is a huge component of those that are still four-cylinders,” said Rivero.

A heavily camouflaged prototype released in July showed what we can expect from the Tasman in terms of design.

Its boxy design, thick wheel arches, narrow vertical LED headlights and handy steps in-built into the tray will certainly set it apart cosmetically from the rest of the ute segment.

Kia will also apply local suspension and performance tuning tailored to Australian roads and driving conditions, so expect performance that can challenge rivals at the top end of its class.

The Tasman is expected to go on sale in Australia in the first half of 2025.