Kia Tasman hybrid or EV? It’ll come, but it’s diesel for now

Forget the electrified hype around utes in Australia right now: Kia’s focus is on trusty old diesel propulsion for its Tasman, which is slated to hit local showroom in July.

While the brand is already plotting an electrified future with hybrid and/or EV offerings for the Tasman, the focus for now is firmly on the sole 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel that spearheads the arrival of the workhorse ute.

Speaking at the first media drive of the crucial ute newcomer, Kia Australia product planning chief Roland Rivero outlined the importance of turbo-diesel power in the popular category.

“Eighty-plus per cent of the market is still four-cylinder diesel,” he said. “That has to be something we get right first.”

His comments were backed by Kia Australia CEO Damien Meredith, who reinforced that “what’s really important with Tasman is that we build a really strong foundation of sales with what we’ve got”.

But Kia is also looking to the future with a car it hopes can steal 20,000 sales off the established ute players, the biggest of which are the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux (which together account for about half of all ute sales).

“We’re always asking for what we foresee in the future,” said Rivero. “There is a long-term roadmap that we are looking at with R&D.”

He said the Korean-based headquarters understood the tightening emissions regulations as a result of the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) that starts applying penalties in July.

“They’re well aware of who just won the election as well,” he added, referencing Labor’s plan to continue with those strict emissions regulations.

Meredith is also unfazed by the easing of ute sales.

In the first four months of 2025 ute sales have dipped 6.3 per cent and now account for 19.8 per cent of the market, down from the 21.2 per cent peak in 2021.

“It’s still going to be over 200,000 [annual sales] – it’s a big segment,” he said.

He also doesn’t agree with recent comments by a Toyota executive that fragmentation in the ute market – driven by the arrival of new brands such as Kia, BYD and MG – means a ute will never top the sales charts again.

“I don’t think you can say there will never be an LCV [light commercial vehicle] at number one,” said Meredith.

“It really depends on market conditions. Use BYD as an example. If they broaden the range with their LCV (the Shark 6, which is currently available as a single variant), who’s to say that they couldn’t get there? They’ve got great expectations in regards to their volume and their positioning in the Australian market. If they can do it, I think Shark would have to be right up there.”

Meredith says the market can change very quickly, something that saw large cars drop from the dominant sellers to be replaced by small hatches then utes.

“I’ve learnt you never say never.”

Join the conversation at our Facebook page
Or email us at editor@carsales.com.au