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Kia could be working on a new ute.
Hot on the heels of the recent Tasman dual-cab ute launch, the South Korean maker could have another ute in the works.
The big reason for this? The US.
The Tasman is unlikely to be sold in the US due to crippling tariffs, but the brand still wants and needs a ute to sell in one of the company’s largest markets.
Sister brand Hyundai has already confirmed it is developing a ute, which is unlikely to be based on the current Tasman.
This opens the door to a completely new workhorse developed by Hyundai but spawning a new Kia ute.
Digital artist @Theottle on YouTube has crafted some new renders to show what a potential Telluride-styled pick-up truck could look like.
The Telluride is Kia’s big SUV, which is a smash hit in the US, but isn’t sold in Australia.
The renderings borrow the front end styling from the new large SUV, which give it a nice boxy silhouette paired with a large front grille and huge vertical headlights.
There is no clunky side cladding or oddly shaped headlights and grille, which have led to many dumping on the current Tasman styling.
It is likely any other Kia ute would be aimed at the US market, so it should use petrol or hybrid power rather than diesel grunt preferred by Australians.
The new Kia ute had initially been expected to be a fully electric workhorse, but waning demand for battery powered utes globally, and especially in the US, forced the company to ditch their plans.
Kia isn’t alone in ditching its large EV ute plans, with Ford, GM and Ram all ditching the idea in the short term.
There is a chance the new Kia ute could be a large American-style pick-up, but it is more likely to be a mid-size ute in a similar vein to the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux.
The Kia Tasman already fills that space in Australia, and it has the potential to add hybrid, plug-in hybrid and even electric power in the future, which likely cancels it out for Down Under.
We will more likely see this ute wearing a Hyundai badge.
Hyundai Australia boss Don Romano has vowed to have a ute here before the end of 2028.
“ My work permit goes for another two and a half years. I'm not leaving until it's coming,” Romano told CarsGuide late last year.
“If they produce what we're talking about at this stage and what we're working on, it's gonna be mind blowing, it's gonna be great. And I really mean that, I'm not just blowing smoke.
“I just think when you come out with a ute, you know, you can't come out with the same thing. You've got to look at the best vehicles in the market, the best utes in the market, who are the two biggest players. We all know who they are and that's who you have to position yourself with. But you have to bring in some new technology, because a lot of that technology they're using has been there for a while.”
