Go to Australia says customers and fleet operators who are interested Tasman utes are already asking about plug-in hybrid propulsion (PHEV), which could prioritize the introduction of this propulsion technology during the model’s life cycle.
In conversation with Daily SparkzGeneral manager of products at Kia Australia, Roland Rivero, said initial feedback from customers and fleets also included requests for a competitor such as the BYD Shark 6 and the Ford Ranger PHEV.
“I think you know very well that there are competitors who are having some success with plug-in hybrid (utes),” Mr. Rivero said. “Naturally and organically, some fleets (and) customers are actually demanding further development of this type of powertrain.
“It’s a long game, particularly on a commercial vehicle, working with R&D, working with head office. We intend to achieve a long product life cycle with Tasman, and a generation after that and beyond – watch this space.”
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Although there is no official confirmation as to what forms of electrification the Tasman will ultimately offer, Mr Rivero has previously revealed this Daily Sparkz that Kia’s global parent company is “definitely” looking into hybrid and electric drives.
“So what’s on the agenda to be studied and reviewed is definitely hybrid and (full) electrification. When is still very open,” Mr Rivero said in May, adding that the Tasman’s ladder frame chassis was a “fairly modular platform” that can “support numerous powertrains”.
However, Australia currently only gets a Euro 5-compliant version (i.e. without AdBlue) of the carmaker’s 154kW/440Nm 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel, matched to 4×2 and 4×4 powertrains. An eight-speed automatic transmission is standard.
The 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engine offered in the Korean market has been excluded from Australia due to pressure from the Australian government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES), which will financially penalize automakers from July 1, 2025 if they fail to meet average emissions caps.
However, the turbo petrol engine available abroad could be implemented in a future hybrid powertrain.
Earlier this year, Hyundai Motor Group – parent company of the Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands – unveiled the next generation of its hybrid technologies and hinted at its future product plans.
The new electrified technologies debut in the new Hyundai Palisade large SUV, powered by a 2.5-liter turbo-petrol hybrid system, and are expected to improve performance and efficiency as well as overall drivability.
You can read more about it Herebut the takeaway on the Tasman is a small hint in the press release that says a rear-wheel drive version of the 2.5 turbo hybrid is in the works for launch in 2026.
While this is likely to be developed primarily for the luxury Genesis, it could also be tailored to the Tasman Ute as it already uses the non-hybrid version of this powertrain.
As for a battery-electric version, Kia South Africa marketing director Christo Valentyn said CarBuzz in December last year that a Tasman electric vehicle was definitely “coming,” although he gave no details as to when.
“I probably shouldn’t say this, but… an electric one is coming,” Mr Valentyn reportedly said at a media roundtable.
Kia confirmed globally in 2022 that it was working on two vehicles: “a dedicated electric pickup and a strategic model for emerging markets,” the latter of which is believed to be a battery-electric Tasman derivative.
An electric Tasman would give Kia a competitor to the upcoming LDV eTerron 9, while other brands such as Ford globally have indicated they are working on their own electric vehicles to compete in the segment.
Traditional hybrid (GWM Cannon Alpha and Toyota Tundra) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (BYD Shark 6, Ford Ranger PHEV and GWM Cannon Alpha Hi4-T) are also increasingly available in Australia.
Stay tuned to Daily Sparkz and let us know your thoughts on the idea of a Tasman PHEV in the comments section below!
MORE: Explore the Kia Tasman showroom
