First Kia ute in the works

Kia and its sister brand Hyundai have been vocal in recent years about their plans to develop their first pick-up, following intensive market research studies in countries including Australia, one of the world’s biggest mid-size ute markets.

The Korean car-makers have long expressed their desire to play in Australia’s booming and lucrative ute sector and Kia said a hay-hauler was central to its mid-term plan to reach 100,000 annual sales.

Last year Kia sold 61,503 vehicles in Australia, where utes account for roughly 20 per cent of the market, and the Seltos small SUV and upcoming Stonic light SUVs are expected to push that tally to 80,000.

In July 2019, Kia Motors Australia COO Damien Meredith confirmed “Work has begun” on a new ute.

“We’re talking about a pick-up, dual-cab, single-cab. What we’ve requested is the full gambit of a ute – diesel and petrol,” he said.

At the time, Meredith even said Kia’s version of the ute could arrive Down Under before Hyundai’s, the timing of which has varied between 2022 and 2023.

Since then, however, both Kia’s and Hyundai’s Australian executives have been muzzled on the matter and a code of silence enacted around anything even remotely ute-related, which led to speculations the project had gone cold.

At this week’s launch of the new Kia Sorento, Kia Australia product planning chief Roland Rivero toed the company line – mostly – when quizzed over the crucial new vehicle.

“I’m under strict orders from Damien Meredith, who is actually not here, that we don’t comment on the ute. Yes, there’s been words mentioned in the past about it,” he said.

When pressed later, Kia’s local product planning chief told carsales a Kia ute was still high on his agenda.

“It’s still something that’s very strongly on our radar and something we’re negotiating with KMC [Kia Motors Corporation], but until such time as we’re allowed to comment on a global project like a ute, we won’t. And at this stage we’re not.”

We’ve written extensively about both Korean brands’ yearning for what would be their first direct rival for the Toyota HiLux – Australia’s top-selling vehicle – and the Ford Ranger, including the fact we may see local testing of prototype vehicles by next year.

It will be a global model based on a rugged ladder-frame chassis platform to ensure it matches the key metrics of its rivals, including one-tonne payload and 3500kg towing capacities.

Power is tipped to come from the Korean group’s latest four-cylinder 2.2-litre turbo-diesel, which makes 148kW/440Nm in the new Kia Sorento, but will need to punch out closer to 500Nm to take on the league leaders.

Apart from a seven-year warranty in the case of the Kia ute, an ace up their sleeve could be the new 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder turbo-diesel developed for the Genesis GV80 luxury SUV, which delivers a buxom 204kW/588Nm.

The Korean ute program could see Kia return to the commercial van sector with an all-new model based on the same platform – or even an all-new electric van.

Together with Hyundai, Kia co-invested around $160 million into EV van-maker Arrival earlier this year and could leverage that partnership for new vehicles.

“It’s a work in progress and under study,” Rivero said of a Kia van.

“We wouldn’t close the door on it. As you know we have a partnership with Arrival. They were looking at that skateboard platform to potentially flow into a commercial space, namely vans.

“If we had to choose an LCV, the number one priority – as it would be for anyone else in Australia – would be leaning towards a ute – a dual-cab ute of some sort,” he concluded.

Images: SRK Design, Kia Telluride Forums