'We are not satisfied yet': Carmaker not giving up on 2026 Kia Tasman with all power options on the table for BYD Shark 6, Toyota HiLux rival

It’s no secret Kia’s entry into the ute market has been rocky.

The Kia Tasman was introduced with a couple of goals: an annual sales target of 80,000 units globally, and about 20,000 in Australia.

For 2026 up to the end of April, Kia Australia has sold 1658 Tasmans, bringing its total sales since launch to 5854.

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While the Tasman’s engine - a 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel - doesn’t put it at a disadvantage amongst its peers, the ute’s design has been divisive to say the least.

Just this week, Kia Australia pulled one emergency lever in the form of a massive price cut in excess of $10,000 for some variants.

But that’s not all the brand has in mind, with its global executives paying close attention to the ute’s fortunes in Australia. 

Spencer Cho, Kia’s Senior Vice President and Head of the Global Business Planning Subdivision, didn’t mince words when asked about the ute’s global sales performance.

“So the answer is clearly, we are not satisfied yet,” Cho said.

“We have a lot of expectations, and we are still in the starting point, and we still have a lot of time… so we will carefully monitor the market.”

Cho specified the Australian market’s tumultuous reception to the brand’s HiLux and Ranger rival was of particular interest to the global executive team, given Australia’s seemingly unending fascination with utes.

“The reactions and early disappointment we have in the Australian market, that gave us a lot of good lessons, then we will provide the counter measures for the coming years.

“We will have other power train choices, if we can, and also other design changes or improvements, or any other offerings for new features and content and technology.

“Currently we are working on every area in which we can improve the performance of the Tasman, especially in the Australian market.”

Specifically regarding new powertrains for the Tasman, he clarified “all the options are on the table right now”.

A 2.5-litre turbo four-cylinder petrol-hybrid version of the Tasman has reportedly been testing, and flagged by Kia Australia as the most logical option if a new drivetrain is to be introduced.

“With NVES currently in play, the priority would probably be more of an electrified hybrid, for example, to try and see us through to the longer term,” Kia Australia General Manager of Product Planning Roland Rivero has told CarsGuide.

Kia’s top brass is further willing to do whatever it takes to bring the Tasman’s performance up to scratch, Cho said, once feedback is clear in terms of what needs to be improved.

“As long as we have the clear market reactions to improve the initial areas, then we will go all the way.”

“We are not just looking at the short term solutions right now. So we are working on, right now, the short term and the midterm solutions at the same time.”

In terms of Kia’s measure of success for any changes made to the Tasman, feedback from Kia Australia and its customers is set to be a big part of the planning process.

“Of course, we have the internal targets to position the Tasman in the right place, which we expected, and also we are monitoring the customer feedback and the market reactions, throughout digital media and also the customer voices. 

“And as we, as you know, Kia Australia is getting a lot of the feedback from the media and also the dealers and also the actual customers.”

Kia Australia is also not shying away from the issues facing the Tasman, with a spokesperson telling CarsGuide earlier this year the brand has “been quite vocal, and [has] been with this car in particular”.

"We're very vocal with our superiors, and up front. We're definitely being very deliberate in what we think might be hampering its sales performance.

"If we want to be a third of the total production volume, they've got to be receptive.”