"It's a contender": How 2025 Kia Tasman will aim for the top of the diesel dual-cab class as it targets Isuzu D-Max, Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger

Kia Tasman will aim for the top of the class

Kia is promising its new Tasman ute will be a "contender" for best-in-class status, listing the non-negotiable demands it levelled at Korea when requesting the new ute.

The clock continues to countdown to the Tasman's arrival, and Kia in Australia has now laid out the capability buyers can expect from its first-ever diesel dual-cab ute.

"We've always been very clear with R&D, let's just call then the non-negotiables," says Kia Australia's GM of Product Planning, Roland Rivero.

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"We spoke about five-star ANCAP, because for the fleets, it's a must. We spoke about 3.5-tonne towing capacity and, believe it or not, for some fleets that's also a must. And we spoke about greater than one-tonne payload. Those three major parameters.

"Obviously alongside that, a full suite of Kia Genuine Accessories to support it. That's been the narrative to R&D all along. And we have every intention of delivering on those non-negotiables.

"So therefore, if those non-negotiables are achieved, it's a contender."

Kia is clearly confident, but isn't quite ready to publicly up its sales targets, with the brand still saying it expects to sell 20,000 units in the Tasman's first 12 months on sale.

Hitting that target would see the Tasman catapult past well-known utes like the Nissan Navara and Mitsubishi Triton to sit fourth on Australia's best-seller list (based on full-year 2023 results), behind the Isuzu D-Max (31,000+), Toyota HiLux (61,000+) and the Ford Ranger (63,000+).

"We believe we're playing in the big volume area, including body style. And we think that the Tasman, as a result, will be able to hit our sales aspirations according," Mr Rivero says.