Electric Kia Tasman ute sibling confirmed! 2030 arrival expected for incoming electric Isuzu D-Max, LDV eTerron 9 and JAC T9 Hunter rivals

In its CEO Investor Day report this week, Kia has confirmed its plans to introduce an electric ute to join the Tasman.

Set to launch this decade, the electric sibling to the Kia Tasman will be built on a new electric car platform “designed for both urban and outdoor use”.

Importantly, Kia so far specifies the “EV pick-up” is intended for the North American market where the Tasman won’t be available.

Confirmation of the electric ute comes in among a sea of sales targets and hopes for market share, including the expectation of selling 90,000 units of the electric ute annually “mid-to-long-term”, once it’s been fully launched.

This means Kia has higher expectations for the eventual EV sibling to the Tasman than it does for the Tasman itself, for which Kia has an 80,000-unit annual global sales target.

Given Kia’s note that the electric ute will be built for North America, it can’t be assumed that the EV will be the same size as the Kia Tasman, which is smaller than the ‘full-size’ pick-ups that are much more popular in the US, like the Ford F-150 and Chevrolet Silverado.

It’s also unclear where the new model will be built, given the volatility of the US and its on-and-off tariff policy.

Kia’s electric ute will, according to the Investor Day report, boast a “best-in-class interior and cargo space” along with what it says will be a “robust” towing system. One of the major downsides of electric utes anecdotally has been the inability to maintain a decent electric driving range while towing, as well as a lower towing capacity than diesel-powered counterparts.

Kia also says the EV ute will be off-road-capable, and will have “advanced infotainment and safety features”.

Some of these features could be developed as part of Kia’s ‘Software Defined Vehicle’ (SDV) expansion, which includes AI-integrated autonomous driving technology, OTA updates and new software platforms.