Kia made waves late last year when the brand introduced its first-ever pick-up, a strange-looking mid-sizer called the Tasman. That new entry is primarily meant to compete with the Ford Ranger in Australia, Korea, and emerging markets. Meaning, in other words, that it’s not planned to head towards American shores.
As it turns out, that doesn’t mean American buyers will miss out on a truck from Kia, however. During an investor day presentation on Wednesday, the brand announced plans to bring a new pickup truck to the U.S. market — and it’ll be electric.
Details are scarce at the moment, but Kia says that the truck will be based on a new EV platform that is “designed for both urban and outdoor use.” That could describe just about any truck on the market today, but those hoping for a Toyota Tacoma-sized electric truck (at least, one not from Toyota) have some reason for hope: Brand CEO Ho Sung Song said just last week that the brand wants to bring a mid-sized entry to America.
Kia Global
Combined with the news that the Tasman will not be headed Stateside, Song’s words suggest that the electric truck will effectively serve as America’s equivalent product. The choice to develop a unique vehicle on an electric platform means that development should take slightly more work than a retooling of the existing Tasman platform would have required, but the resulting truck will fit squarely with Kia’s plans to be a major player in many segments of the U.S. EV market going forward.
Kia claims that the new truck will ” feature best-in-class interior and cargo space, a robust towing system, off-road capabilities, and advanced infotainment and safety features.” The brand is targeting annual sales of 90,000 units per year. For comparison, Toyota sold 192,813 Tacomas in 2024; on the EV side, the Ford F-150 Lightning moved 33,510 units.
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