Kia continues its truck project… in Australia

The car project at Kia is not new. We told you about it in July 2019 when the brand’s director of operations in Australia announced that the car had been given the green light.

There was talk at the time of a launch around the same time as the Hyundai Santa Cruz, but that hasn’t happened yet. Blame it on the epidemic? It is possible.

At the end of a recent dealer meeting, Kia confirmed that the car is in development, will have more power and will enter the Australian market in 2025. No further details have been announced. however they are provided, but the site What a car it bears a close relation to the Mohave SUV sold there.

Unlike the Santa Cruz, which uses a monocoque structure, it seems we understand that Kia’s pickup truck would prefer to be built on a solid ladder frame. Standard taxi and crew models will be considered, as will the choice of petrol and diesel engines.

The aim is to compete in the middle segment, mainly with Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux. Kia is reportedly planning to release its pickup truck in various markets outside of Australia, but there is no indication that North America is one of them as of yet.

Fortunately for us, there are electric cars. If you remember, in March 2022 Kia detailed its new ‘Plan S’, promising to launch 14 new battery-powered models worldwide by 2027.

Two of them will be cargo vans: one will be reserved for emerging markets and the other should come to us. Moreover, their production should be done in the United States, somewhere towards the end of 2024 or a little later. Again, unfortunately, the details are limited, but it should not be easy Kia EV9 with an open back box. It will continue.

In the video: designer Karim Habib presents the Kia EV9