Stand by for a Kia ute announcement! there will be something for everyone and it won't be far away, so look out Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux, Isuzu D-Max, Nissan Navara and Mitsubishi Triton

Kia is poised to announce more details about its long-awaited rival to the Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger and Isuzu D-Max soon, and possibly before the end of this year.

A ladder-frame chassis truck with both single-cab and dual-cab configurations, the as-yet unnamed pick-up coded as ‘TK’ is expected to be made in various parts of the world, including in South Korea, for global consumption.

And, don’t worry, truck diehards: it will be offered with diesel power, though an all-electric version is also under development for so-called “Developed Markets” mandating zero tailpipe emissions vehicles over the next decade or so.

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Australia, of course, will be front and centre in the queue when it goes on sale; nobody yet knows when, but our bet is by the middle of this decade.

According to Kia Motors Australia product planning manager, Roland Rivero, a medium-sized pick-up truck cannot come soon enough, as the company focuses on its next stage of sales growth and development.

“If we’re going to bring in a ute, it has to be a HiLux competitor, it has to be ladder-frame, and from our perspective also, we see that as the greatest volume and profit contributor,” he told CarsGuide in late May.

“And if you’re going to go all in, you’re going to go in proper 4x4, 4x2, single-cab, double-cab utes… by categorisation, it’s a C pick-up, which is more Ranger, HiLux, D-Max, Triton, as opposed to (the larger) F-series truck.”

That said, according to speculation coming out of South Korea, a two-pronged truck strategy has already been flagged by Kia Motors global president, Ho-sung Song, during an investor seminar earlier this year that laid out plans for 14 EV car, SUV, van and truck models by 2027.

Of the coming pick-ups, it’s been reported that the first will use a scalable, dedicated electrical architecture that can take in both the mid-sized (Ranger) and full-size (Ford F-150 Lightning/Rivian R1T) markets, while a cheaper, diesel-powered mid-sized truck is being engineered for “Emerging Markets” to help keep costs down.

It seems that the latter will be the focus for KMAu, with Mr Rivero hinting strongly that we’ll know much more about Kia’s HiLux rival soon.

“For Mr Song to mention it, we’re not far away,” he teased. “It’s good for the global CEO to mention it, and we’re leveraging off that, and we hope that in the very near future, there will be another global announcement beyond what he has already shared.

“When a global CEO starts talking almost cryptically about something like that, you can safely assume that it ain’t that far away.”

Mr Rivero seemed to also confirm that Kia is thinking about both internal combustion engine diesel as well as all-electric moving forward.

“We’re talking both,” he said. “If you look at (the pick-ups from) Ford, Mitsubishi, Isuzu, Toyota… there’s still a big, big diesel appetite, and it’s going to take some time to convert agriculture, mining, tradies, etc. Until our infrastructure starts to resemble Europe or even South Korea, it’s not an easy conversion.

“Given that Mr Song has announced a general market pick-up, which will be a derivative platform that consists of EV, he hasn’t mentioned ICE, but he has said derivative: so, you don’t do derivative unless there’s an ICE equivalent on your side.”

So, where will Kia’s first-ever mid-sized ute for emerging markets (and Australia) come from?

“From a logistical standpoint, built in Asia is always far more beneficial from a geographical and logistical perspective,” Mr Rivero revealed.

“I’ve never said it won’t be built in multiple locations. And from a selfish Australian perspective, we would rather it was built somewhere in Asia, because it only takes two weeks for a car anywhere in Asia to make its way anywhere to Australian shores. And most of the Asian countries we have a free-trade agreement with, so you’ve got five per cent off and quick logistics.”

Finally, is there a chance of a Kia version of the Hyundai Santa Cruz – the Tucson medium SUV-based car-derived ute that’s currently only built in and for North America?

“We’ve never put our hand up for one,” Mr Rivero said.

“We’ve never expressed interest in that.”

With a possible HiLux rival in the pipeline, it’s clear where Kia’s priorities lie.

Stay tuned, as we’ll keep you posted as soon as more news breaks.