Kia is upping the variety of pickup truck fashions it makes, taking it from one to 2. Final yr, the corporate introduced its plucky Kia Tasman, which it considers a hit, regardless of the polarizing design. And Kia is celebrating by releasing a second pickup: an electric vehicle that, not like the Tasman, is coming to North America.
“Kia plans to introduce an EV pickup truck primarily based on a brand new EV platform designed for each city and outside use,” the corporate mentioned in an announcement final week. “The car will characteristic best-in-class inside and cargo house, a strong towing system, off-road capabilities and superior infotainment and security options.”
Particulars proper now are pretty slim, however some conclusions will be drawn from Kia’s statements: The inclusion of off-road capabilities will set the upcoming EV other than the Hyundai Santa Fe, which is presently the one pickup truck Kia or its sister firm sells within the US proper now.
It will be on a brand new EV platform, so it’s going to even be set other than the corporate’s existing EV offerings, just like the Kia EV6. The infotainment will doubtless be much like present mannequin Kia EVs and automobiles, just like the dual-display know-how within the extra recent Kia Sportage SUVs.
Will a Kia EV pickup succeed within the US?
Per the press launch, Kia is anticipating to promote roughly 90,000 of those new EV pickups per yr, a lofty purpose in a market the place the Ford F-150 Lightning is barely hitting 30,000 models bought. By most accounts, it is an bold gross sales purpose to hit for a car that’ll characterize Kia’s first try at appeasing the US truck purchaser market. Nevertheless, there’s nonetheless room for optimism.
“The fashions constructed on the eGMP line bought over 100K models in 2024,” mentioned Liz Najman, director of market insights at Recurrent, an organization that provides unbiased insights on EV efficiency. “Furthermore, just like the EV6, Kia pickups will doubtless be made within the US, serving to keep away from pricey tariffs that may drive up costs for shoppers. It’s doubtless that value shall be a significant component for shoppers within the coming years.”
Najman additionally mentioned that vans had been the 2 top-selling automobiles in 2024, so it is doable that Kia can attain its gross sales targets, offered that the automaker can hit that candy spot of aggressive pricing and functionality.
“Whenever you have a look at electrical automotive gross sales, each the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the Jeep Wrangler PHEV bought over 50K models in 2024, and naturally the Mannequin 3 and the Mannequin Y bought 150K+ and 370K+ models,” Najman mentioned. “Electrical automobiles are seeing sturdy gross sales numbers once they ship on what clients need.”
