First Kia ute expected by 2025
Kia Australia says it “will be ready” to attack the lucrative local ute market; big volume and wide model range expectedIt’s not officially confirmed, but Kia’s all-new dual-cab ute seems certain to become available in Australia as soon as 2025.
Images of prototypes under test in Korea are bombarding the internet and Kia Australia is doing nothing to deny its interest in getting hold of the production version as soon as possible.
“If it comes it’s going to be a huge, huge, huge fillip for us and we think if it comes it will be a huge success in Australia,” said Kia Australia chief operating officer Damien Meredith.
“If it did come you would expect it to come in the next few years.”
“And if it does come, as a brand we will be ready. We will be ready as a dealer network, as a structure internally at Kia Australia to handle the volume requirements and the technical requirements and the customer requirements and the network development requirements.”
If confirmed for production, which appears a formality at this stage, it seems certain the first Kia ute will be offered here with multiple body styles and diesel engine choices, as well as 4x4 and 4x2 drivetrains – as Meredith has long said.
“It you enter that segment you want to do it properly,” he said this week.
The only part of the market Kia doesn’t seem interested in attacking is Toyota’s stranglehold on the entry-level petrol 4x2 segment as part of the Korean brand’s strategy to stay out of “bottom feeder” parts of the new-vehicle market.
Meredith hinted Kia Australia’s sales target is as high as 25,000 per annum for its first ute.
“If there was 100,000 manufactured – just picking a number – we would be doing 20 to 25 per cent of that,” he said.
Based on 2022 sales figures, that volume would place Kia in a fight for third in the segment with the Isuzu D-MAX and Mitsubishi Triton, behind the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger.
Such a huge sales boost would also rocket Kia past Mazda into second place on the sales ladder and over 100,000 sales per annum.
Such a goal was outlined by Meredith as long ago as 2019.
“We’ve got to keep growing and to keep on growing you’ve got to have entrants into segments you don’t compete in,” he said this week. “We know that.”
Meredith also hinted the popularity of ladder-frame one-tonne dual-cabs in Australia led to significant local input into the ute’s development.
“If that [ute] occurred in Australia, we would have a big say in it,” said Meredith. “Our input would be quite significant I would say.”
It’s entirely possible Kia Australia’s product team led by product planning chief Roland Rivero and/or dynamics consultant Graeme Gambold have driven the ute prototype and provided input into the capabilities it must achieve.
Rivero’s team tunes each Kia new model for Australia, but access usually comes at a late stage of development and is restricted to suspension and steering fine-tuning.
Meredith agreed the Australian team might have more fundamental input at an earlier development stage of the ute.
“The logic of that is correct,” he said. “You just have to look at global LCV sales at that size. We are a big player.”
It also has been made clear an electric Kia ute will follow the diesel to market within a few years.
The diesel will be based on a platform intended for global emerging markets that will also spawn an electric powertrain. A dedicated EV primarily aimed at the USA is also under development.
“If that [EV] did occur that would be fantastic and again we would be ready,” Meredith promised.
Related: SPY PICS: Best look yet at Kia ute
Related: Kia and Hyundai utes are still on track for Australia
Related: SPY PICS: First Kia ute prototype spotted in Korea
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