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Peek at Kia Tasman ute coming “pretty soon”

Kia is poised to share a sneak peek at its upcoming ute soon, ahead of local showroom arrivals in mid-2025.


South Korean car giant Kia has indicated a sneak peek at its upcoming ute is just around the corner.

Alongside the launch of three new electric vehicles, Kia’s global design boss suggested a first glance at the company's upcoming dual-cab ute is coming “pretty soon”.

“I think you'll get a peek pretty soon,” Karim Habib told international media in South Korea for the inaugural Kia Electric Vehicle Day.

No other details were shared about Kia’s rival to the Toyota HiLux or Ford Ranger, but Mr Habib suggested the brand’s latest styling language – seen on the new Kia EV5, Concept EV4, and Concept EV3 – will be applied to the Kia ute.

“Well, of course,” Mr Habib told media, when asked about a family resemblance among Kia’s new models.

“We design products for people to use to improve their lives within the framework of our brand. So, design has to have those attributes and that automatically creates a family look.”

From left to right: Kia EV6, Kia Concept EV4, Kia EV5, Kia Concept EV3, Kia EV9

Kia representatives have previously told Drive Australia is one of the primary markets for the vehicle – believed to be called the Kia Tasman, based on trademark filings – and it is due to undergo final validation testing and suspension tuning in on local roads to ensure it is suitable to our harsh conditions on- and off-road.

While the ute will be equipped with a diesel engine initially, Kia is also expected to offer an electric ute in the future. However, it's uncertain whether the electric ute will be based on the same vehicle or a different platform shared with Hyundai.

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Tom Fraser

Tom started out in the automotive industry by exploiting his photographic skills but quickly learned that journalists got the better end of the deal. He began with CarAdvice in 2014, left in 2017 to join Bauer Media titles including Wheels and WhichCar and subsequently returned to CarAdvice in early 2021 during its transition to Drive. As part of the Drive content team, Tom covers automotive news, car reviews, advice, and holds a special interest in long-form feature stories. He understands that every car buyer is unique and has varying requirements when it comes to buying a new car, but equally, there’s also a loyal subset of Drive audience that loves entertaining enthusiast content. Tom holds a deep respect for all things automotive no matter the model, priding himself on noticing the subtle things that make each car tick. Not a day goes by that he doesn’t learn something new in an everchanging industry, which is then imparted to the Drive reader base.

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