Kia is expecting at least a 20,000 annual sales uptick when the Tasman goes on sale around June next year, helping it break free from Hyundai and potentially chasing down Mazda and Ford to claim position number two on Australia's sales charts.
That's from Kia Australia's CEO Damien Meredith, who was quick to point out that both Kia and Hyundai's combined success is what matters to the brand – given both marques fall under the same parent company – but suggested its Korean sibling "won't be able to match" the volume uptick the Tasman could deliver.
The Tasman will join a renewed focus on hybrid technology in most of its other model lines, giving the Korean brand products in the two most popular vehicles types in Australia – dual-cab utes and hybrids.
"With NVES we'd like to have the availability of more hybrids, and we'll bring in as many as we can in 2025 and 2026. If its available, we'll put our hands up for it," Mr Meredith says.
"It's always been my view that Hyundai and Kia together, if they do well, that's great. We've been fortunate that we've been able to get ahead of them over the past few years.
"We've got Tasman coming and that's probably going to give us a volume leap that they won't be able to match in the early stages.
"We're looking at around 10 percent of the market. When we first ventured down this pathway, the (ute) market was around 200,000 sales, and it's a bit bigger than that now, but we think 20,000 (sales) is achievable."
Kia's targeted 20,000 Tasman sales per annum breaks down to 1666 sales per month. Based on this year's sales, and discounting an increase in hybrid deliveries, the Tasman would have seen added 15,000 units to Kia's year-to-date (January to September) tally of 62,473 for a total 77,474 units.
That would have seen it climb from fourth place to second, eclipsing Mazda (73,487 sales) and Ford (74,564 sales). In fact, only Toyota would be ahead on a year-to-date basis, with a whopping 183,606 sales between January and September.
In short, the Tasman will give Kia a real shot at its highest-ever ranking on Australia's new-car sales chart, and the opportunity to claim the title of the country's second-biggest manufacturer.
It would also see it outselling the Nissan Navara, Mitsubishi Triton, Mazda BT-50, and trailing only the Isuzu D-Max, Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux.
They are big ambitions, and they're yet to be realised, but at last we'll have a better understanding of just how likely Kia is to achieve them, with the Tasman set for its global unveiling tomorrow.
CarsGuide will be in attendance, so watch this space.
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