2025 Kia Tasman ute: Everything you need to know

The Kia Tasman ute has finally been revealed.

Uncovered at the Jeddah International Motor Show in Saudi Arabia, the Tasman will land in Australia with a 154kW/441Nm 2.2-litre diesel engine paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission.

“Kia’s first-ever pickup truck was created from the ground up to transform the market and respond to the growing preference for lifestyle-oriented trucks with advanced features,” said Ho Sung Song, President and CEO at Kia.

Here's everything we know about it! 👇

JUMP AHEAD

• October 31: Controversial styling polarises the public
• October 29: 2025 Kia Tasman ute makes global debut
• October 17: New teaser confirms reveal date
• August 27: Tasman spied undergoing load testing, in NSW
• August 7: Video showcases Tasman testing in Victoria, Australia
• July 16: Upcoming documentary to showcase Tasman testing in Australia
• July 9: What engine/s will it have?
• April 29: New renders of the Tasman ute
• April 29: What if Kia turned the Tasman in a Wrangler rival?
• April 23: Kia Tasman subtly previewed in light camouflage
• March 2024: Kia Tasman officially confirmed in star-studded video
• February 2024: New Kia ute rendered & spied with Ford Ranger Raptor
• January 2024: Kia Tasman spied in production form
• June 2023: We talk with local Kia boss about the new ute
• June 2023: Kia Tasman? New name trademarked
• May 2023: Dealers get the news
• Kia Australia super keen for a ute
• Australia important to development
• When will the Kia ute be revealed?
• January 2023: More spy photos
• November 2022: Kia ute rendered
• November 2022: Kia ute first spy photos!

October 31: Controversial styling polarises the public

Kia’s long-awaited 4x4 ute follows a proven formula but with a polarising styling package.

Since the curtain dropped at the big reveal in Saudi Arabia, with a smaller unveiling in Tasmania, the online comments about the look of the ute have been less than positive.

October 29: 2025 Kia Tasman ute makes global debut

The Ranger-fighting Kia Tasman ute has finally been revealed

Three trim levels will be available: Baseline, X-Line and X-Pro. The X-Line features 18-inch alloy wheels paired with highway and all-terrain tyres; while the X-Pro is bred more for off-road work due to its 28mm higher ground clearance (totalling 252mm) and 17-inch wheels inside all-terrain rubber.

October 17: New teaser video confirms global reveal date

A new teaser published to the Kia Worldwide YouTube page has confirmed the all-new Kia Tasman ute will make its world premiere at the Jeddah International Motor Show in Saudi Arabia, on October 29.

The reveal will live-stream on the Kia Worldwide YouTube channel at 6pm Australian time. Watch the teaser video here 👇

August 27: Tasman spied undergoing load testing

We're expecting to see what the 2025 Kia Tasman 4x4 ute will look like very soon, with a launch in Korea before the end of 2024.

For now the brand is keeping things very much under wraps as it continues testing the body-on-frame utility around the globe, including in Australia. This heavily disguised Tasman was spotted testing near Mungo National Park in the far west of New South Wales, by the quick-thinking Clive Williams who snapped these photos.

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The Tasman was clearly undergoing load testing with a laden trailer in the harsh conditions. The Tasman is expected to have a 3500kg towing capacity when it arrives to compete with the likes of Ford Ranger, Mitsubishi Triton, Toyota HiLux and Isuzu D-MAX, so proving its ability in the Australian outback is most important.

Test-Trak is a Melbourne-based, private field testing company that works with many OEMs to evaluate their vehicles in Australian conditions. The signage on the trailer behind the Tasman indicates this testing was being undertaken by Test-Trak.

The Kia Tasman ute is expected to go on sale in Q1 of 2025

August 7: Video showcases Tasman testing in Victoria, Australia

Kia has posted a short video to its Korean Facebook page, showcasing its Tasman ute testing off-road in the Victorian wilderness. The brief video sees the Tasman navigate dirt and mud, overcoming a few off-camber tracks in the process.

July 16: Upcoming documentary to showcase Tasman testing in Australia

Kia dropped a teaser for its documentary series – One More Round – which will provide a behind-the-scenes look at the Tasman’s extensive testing regime in the harsh Australian wilderness. The series will run from July to October, and the first episode is scheduled for release on July 22. Watch the teaser here 👇

July 9: Engine speculation

A diesel powerplant is on the cards, to align the Tasman alongside its popular Ranger and HiLux rivals.

It's understood it will be powered by a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. However, there is also speculation we could see the 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder turbo-diesel currently found in the Genesis GV80 SUV.

Petrol and electrified options have also been discussed, with an electric Tasman expected to launch in overseas markets in 2026 and beyond - whether we see the EV here is another matter.

April 29: New renders of the Tasman

If the idea of a wagon isn't compelling enough, digital artist NYMammoth has delivered new speculative renderings of the Tasman, based on the most recent set of official images.

Click on the image below to see the full gallery of NYMammoth's work.

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Kia Tasman imagined by NYMammoth

April 29: What if Kia turned the Tasman in a Wrangler rival?

An enterprising artist has imagined the Tasman in wagon form, ready to wrestle the popular Wrangler. Are you into it?

See the photos and watch the video at the story linked below.

April 23: Kia Tasman subtly previewed in light camouflage

The 2025 Kia Tasman ute has been teased in a unique camouflage wrap ahead of its full debut later this year.

See the photos and watch the video at the story linked below.

March 2024: Kia Tasman officially confirmed in star-studded video

The 2025 Kia Tasman ute has inched closer to its full reveal with a new video officially confirming what it’ll be called.

February 2024: New Kia ute rendered & spied with Ford Ranger Raptor

The hotly anticipated Kia Tasman pickup is nearing its global debut, and these latest images leave no doubts as to where its sights will be set.

January 2024: Kia Tasman spied in production form

Here it is: The 2025 Kia Tasman ute has been spied in production form for the first time.

June 2023: Kia targets Ford Ranger for new commercial vehicle range

"We think we could capture 10 per cent of the LCV market" – Kia Australia boss Damien Meredith on the coming Kia ute, hinting at a target of around 20,000 sales.

Read our interview at the linked story below.

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June 2023: Kia trademarks Tasman, hinting at the name for its now-confirmed ute

The Kia Tasman nameplate has been trademarked in Australia and other nations – including New Zealand – as the brand prepares to launch a diesel HiLux and Ranger-rivalling ute in 2025.

While the name isn’t explicitly linked to the now-confirmed ute, it is the likely candidate, with previous Kia trademarks – such as Seltos and Stinger – filed in the months prior to a vehicle’s global debut.

The Tasman name is a likely reference to the state of Tasmania and the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, named after Dutch explorer Abel Tasman.

The trademark is intended for Australia's class 12 goods and services category, which comprises 'automobiles', such as trucks, vans, buses, sports cars and electric cars.

Jordan Hickey

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FINALLY: Kia's ute is confirmed, and it's coming to Australia in 2025

Yep, it's locked in. Kia's Australian arm isn't saying much about local plans at this point, likely forbidden from speaking on it, but it's happening.

Speaking with Wheels today, a senior source in Kia's dealer network said the company used a dealer conference this afternoon to confirm the ute – known internally by the model code TK – will reach Australia in 2025.

For its part, Kia's Australian arm has confirmed the ute exists, but will say no more.

"Kia is currently developing a future pickup truck model that will be highly capable and fit for purpose," a spokesperson for Kia Australia said today. "Additional details will be confirmed in due course."

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What can we expect?

Our source tells us the ute was not shown to dealers today, but, as earlier spy photos show, the Kia ute will enter as a proper 'midsize' pickup to rival the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux.

Underpinning the 'TK' will be an "all-new" ladder-frame chassis, with power supplied by a diesel engine. Details on those aspects of the new pickup were not revealed today, but it's understood the Ranger and HiLux were used in benchmarking Kia's ute.

Kia has previously confirmed it's also developing electric (or electrified) utes for the US, but it remains unclear if either of those will make their way to Australia.

Australia playing a part in ute development

Dealers were told today that Australia has played a significant role in the ute's development, with engineers having visited "on multiple occasions" to study our market's most popular utes and local conditions.

It was not confirmed if any prototypes have yet come to Australia, although we expect that will occur in the coming year.

In late 2022, local boss Damien Meredith said we can expect Kia's ute to receive local tuning in Australia.

“That’s part of our robust strategy, we get every car that enters Australia to go through that process. It’s normally eight to 12 months out, so it won’t be happening in the next year or so."

At this point, it seems likely that Kia’s Australian team, including ride and handling consultant Graeme Gambold, are already driving the ute in Korea.

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Our speculative, Mohave SUV-based rendering is likely not accurate – but it does look good...

Kia Australia has made no secret of its interest in a ute

A final detail out of today's conference is that development on the TK began in 2020, but internal discussion – and open enthusiasm from Kia's Australian arm – has been ongoing for much longer.

“We’re hopeful that something will happen in the light commercial range in a few years’ time,” Meredith told Wheels in 2018. “There’s still a bit of homework being done at head office regarding it, but we’d like to think it will happen and we’ll be ready when it does.”

Indeed. As our evolving story below shows – see quotes from local product manager Roland Rivero – there's plenty of enthusiasm in the brand's Australian arm. And while the 2025 launch is still a while away, Rivero's comments explain why dealers were informed today: some will need bigger showrooms.

When will the Kia ute be revealed?

We don't know that yet, but a 2025 Australian launch likely means a global unveiling will occur sometime in 2024.

When it can, the local arm likes to tie big-ticket new model launches to its sponsorship of the Australian Open, so a January 2025 launch for the ute feels right. That said, the big new EV9 SUV was unveiled in late March and will reach Australia in late 2023 – so, really, we could speculate all day on this one!

Now we wait. In the meantime... how about a new Pregio van?

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January 2023: Kia Ute spied with badge exposed. It's real, finally!

The Kia Ute story continues with the latest spy shots of an even less camouflaged ute with clear Kia badging in the grille, hidden behind no more than a mesh screen.

Kia Australia remains tight-lipped about specifics on the ute, but it's made no secret of wanting it here as soon as it can come.

These latest spy photos (courtesy of AutoSpy) show a ute progressing in development from the Mohave front-ended prototype spotted last year. Still, the headlights are distinctly Mohave in their design.

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The spy photos give a clear glimpse at the roofline and the ute's bluff styling with plenty of vertical surfaces, much like the Sorento large SUV. The Kia ute's rear overhang also appears quite long in this shot, which may impact its load-carrying ability.

Kia has worked hard to keep the rear doors and tub covered on the latest test mule. Wheels understands that Kia’s ute is in development, though any further details including local arrival remains scarce and executives guarded.

With the automotive world transitioning swiftly ito electrification, it’s unlikely Kia’s future ute will feature newly-developed diesel powertrains, and there may be potential of an EV version, too.

For now, though, any word on powertrain or arrival timing is pure speculation.

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We expect Kia’s final ute will be similar in proportion to Australia and Thailand’s favourite one-tonne dual cabs, those being the Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger and Isuzu D-Max, rather than competition for the larger RAM 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado.

Check out our Theottle’s renders that feature in the previous story for an artist’s impression of what a Kia ute could look like

Our original story, below, continues unchanged.

John Law

November 25, 2022: “I think your renderer has made it look sensational”

Kia Australia's general manager of product planning, Roland Rivero, said of Theottle’s Mohave-based Kia ute render.

Unfortunately, the pictured render won’t be the ute’s final form: “it’s not uncommon in any kind of prototype testing – particularly when you’re only currently working on chassis, for instance – to borrow panels from another car just to disguise it," he said.

Like punters and journalists, Kia’s Australian arm is keen for more info: “I think for [Kia], if there was a vehicle in development, an announcement would be appreciated sooner rather than later”, Rivero continued.

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Our speculative, Mohave SUV-based rendering is likely not accurate – but it does look good...

“Because you've got to develop a dealer network. Some dealer showrooms might only have the size to cater for passenger cars or SUVs, so adding this [ute] to the lineup would actually mean investment and infrastructure.

“So I think you’ve got to give a dealer network time to do that – you can't expect dealers’ to turn around in two months – so ideally something of an announcement, if there was going to be one, is made sooner rather than later if [the vehicle] was already in chassis development mode,” Rivero said.

How successful could Kia’s ute be?

With a light commercial vehicle to rival the likes of Ranger, HiLux, Triton and D-Max, Kia Australia COO Damien Meredith is certain the brand’s sales would grow. It’s not hard to see why, given the ute segment accounts for 200,000 annual new car sales.

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“If you get 10 per cent of the LCV market it's over 20,000 Aussie sales”, Meredith said. That would be enough to see Kia climb the sales leaderboard and potentially take second place from Mazda.

Of course, this would all hinge on the ute being successful. While it seems guaranteed, it isn’t, we’ve seen new players fail before – most recently the Nissan Navara-based Mercedes-Benz X-Class.

On that theme, Kia’s Australian execs made it clear to Wheels that if what we’re seeing is going to spawn a new vehicle – or range of them – then it will be new from the ground up.

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“If [Kia] was going to develop a product of this nature, they wouldn't be basing it off a 2008 product that's over 10 years' old, it's simply just which product in our range can we grab panels off to at least complete a mask for now.

“If there was such a product, expect it to be all new from the ground up”, Rivero added.

Our original story, below, continues unchanged.

Mike Stevens

November 9, 2022: 2024 Kia ute spy photos and rendered

Ford Ranger rival takes shape

Following the first clear spy photos of the upcoming Kia pickup, published last week, we've commissioned a pair of renderings that could be a hint of what's to come. (Now shown above in our more recent update.)

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As explained below, we're expecting the Kia ute's design to have little in common with the Mohave face it's wearing in prototype form, but when it comes to imagining what that might mean, we've decided to steer relatively close to both the Mohave and the Telluride SUV sold overseas.

We considered models like the Sportage, Seltos and upcoming EV9 as potential inspiration for our renders (crafted by the brilliant Theottle), but ultimately, it's likely the Kia ute will drive in a different direction to all of these existing models.

Still, we reckon our rendition of the upcoming ute has an impressive style, standing out as a tough-looking rival to the popular Ford Ranger.

What do you think? Tell us in the comments below, and keep scrolling to read the rest of our story.

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November 3: The upcoming Ranger-rivalling Kia ute has been spied, clearly intentionally – and it seems a sure thing that an Australian launch is in the works

Mike Stevens

The long, long-anticipated Kia ute has been spied in the open for the first time, wearing heavy camouflage – and a very obvious front-end mask built from the existing Mohave SUV sold overseas.

Right off the bat, a few details are clear: Firstly, the seemingly seamless bolting of the Mohave’s face to this ute appears to confirm what we’ve long expected: Kia’s ute will be Ranger-sized, making it an obvious contender in Australia’s popular ute market.

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Secondly...

The Mohave’s face can logically be for prototyping purposes only, given the current Mohave design is a 2019 facelift of a model that launched in 2008. Indeed, the current Mohave is now so old that despite being designed for North America, it is now only sold in Korea.

And, third

Kia’s obviously ready for the world to know more about its upcoming ute, with the brand’s new badge clearly visible in the grille of this spied prototype. Not so much ‘spied’, then, as ‘conveniently exposed for the world’s media to see’. Fair play – that’s marketing at its best. Kudos.

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Expect a big electric ute, and an ICE model for Australia

Based on comments made by Kia president Ho-sung Song at an investor event in March this year, we can expect the Korean brand to launch two utes in the coming years – larger than Hyundai’s niche, style-focused and car-based Santa Cruz pickup.

One will be a ‘full-size’ electric ute designed specifically for America and with the Ford F-150 Lightning in its sights; while the other will be a smaller ICE-based model developed for “emerging markets” in Asia, including Australia – not technically an “emerging” market, but an already well-established region for utes sold in Asia and 'Oceania'.

Considering the open interest shown by Kia’s influential Australian arm for a proper dual-cab work ute – a ‘smaller’ offering designed to not only compete with the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger in size, but also to advance the segment by offering some level of electrification (perhaps before Ford’s anticipated Ranger PHEV arrives) – it seems clear the second model will be perfectly suited to Australia.

What size Kia ute are we talking?

The ute spied here, with its Mohave face, suggests a Ranger-sized offering – while the solid axle design visible at the rear makes clear we can expect this to be a segment-competitive diesel or petrol offering, suited to Australian market preferences.

Of course, given we are currently living in the year 2022, an electrified version of this ute should also be on the cards.

Still, for those motivated more by conventional needs, Kia’s Australian arm has been clear in its goals.

Speaking with media in South Korea at the launch of the Seltos back in 2019 – because that’s at least how long the pressure’s been on – Kia Australia COO Damien Meredith could not hide his eagerness for a ute in the brand’s line-up.

“The good news is that there is conversation, so it’s still very much a long way away, but we’re confident in the near future the group will have a light commercial range in Australia.

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“Yes, I think 2022-23 would be pretty close,” he said, in regard to a date for launching here.

If only we’d had a crystal ball at the time…

Meredith continued: “Work has begun. We’re talking about a pick-up, dual-cab, single cab. What we’ve requested [for Australia] is the full gambit of a ute: double-cab, dual-cab, diesel and petrol.”

That interview provided the most detailed comment we’ve heard yet for the Kia ute that could put a dent in sales leaders like the Ranger and Hilux – but Meredith also confirmed we can expect Kia's ute to receive local tuning in Australia.

“That’s part of our robust strategy, we get every car that enters Australia to go through that process. It’s normally eight to 12 months out, so it won’t be happening in the next year or so."

At this point, at the back end of 2022, it seems likely that Kia’s Australian team, including ride and handling consultant Graeme Gambold, are already driving the ute in Korea. We wouldn’t be surprised to see it on Australian roads in the months ahead.

What about... Hyundai?

The local launch of Kia's ute might be followed quickly by Hyundai’s version of a dual-cab built on the same platform.

“I think that’s logical, isn’t it?” Meredith said, on the topic of the Hyundai group designing a ladder-frame platform for both of its big-time brands.

Indeed, this week's sneaky Kia 'spy' photo notwithstanding, the Hyundai version could even debut first.

“Hopefully we’re first [to launch in Australia] but it doesn’t really matter. It'll be close.”

Good luck getting Hyundai's Australian arm to volunteer a useful statement on that, however. We've so far been given the classic 'no comment'.

Meredith has never been shy of making predictions, either. In that 2019 interview, he suggested the company would be expecting to own around “8 to 10 per cent” of the light commercial vehicle segment, translating to around 20,000 ute sales.

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The car-based Santa Cruz is currently Hyundai's only ute, but don't expect it to have much influence on the group's upcoming ladder-frame ute

When will Kia's ute go on sale in Australia?

There's no hiding Kia Australia's interest in a ute, especially when such a model could be considered a key contributor to climbing up the local sales ladder.

Officially there's no word, but if the new ute is revealed early next year, a late 2023 or early 2024 launch could be on the cards for Australia.

Given Kia's overall growth in recent years, how compelling do you think a Kia-badged dual-cab ute would be in Australia? Tell us in the comments below!