3 days ago
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The South Korean car giant has set ambitious global sales targets for its first diesel dual-cab ute – and wants Australia to form a key part of them.
Kia has announced bold sales targets for its Tasman ute that aim to see one in four examples delivered globally each year reach Australian driveways.
In the Tasman's first full year in global showrooms – 2026 – the South Korean car giant aims to sell 80,000 examples, or a 6 per cent share of the "C-segment" (HiLux-sized) ute class, the company announced overnight.
It is based on a forecast of 1.318 million "C-segment pick-ups" sold in "emerging markets" and South Korea this year, growing to 1.387 million in 2026, and 1.675 million in 2030.
Kia Australia forecasts 10,000 to 11,000 Tasman deliveries by the end of this year – after the first shipments arrive in July – and 20,000 next year.
That equates to a more ambitious 8 to 9 per cent share of the Australian ute market – based on last year's sales, and excluding larger US-style pick-ups – in a category that saw deliveries slide by 4 per cent last year.
It means one in four Tasmans that Kia aims to sell would be sent to Australia, likely making ours one of the largest single markets for the vehicle, along with the likes of South Korea.
The company acknowledges Tasman sales will need to come from other brands – something HiLux maker Toyota has acknowledged in declarations that Australia has reached 'peak ute', and that new entrants will claim sales from existing models, not bring new customers to the market.
"In regards to our forecasting and our internal numbering, we've been pretty good at saying that we're going to do 35,000 [vehicle sales] in 2015, and we did 35,000 in 2015," Kia Australia CEO Damien Meredith told Drive last month.
"In 2017, we [said we would do] 50,000 cars, and we did 50,000 cars. So we have a tendency to look at the micro aspects of the business rather than the macro aspects of the business, that's what drives our [forecasts].
"Great product and lots of other things drive it, but in the forecasting aspects, we do look at the micro aspects of what we have to achieve, and that's how we work towards the number.
"So it's right, the numbers are showing that there's a levelling out – a decline – in LCV [light-commercial vehicles]. SUVs continue to grow.
"But the reality is we were at 28,000 [Kia vehicle sales] ten years ago, now we're around 90,000. So we have to garner share from other manufacturers to do that, hence the bubble component of that forecast."
Alongside the Tasman sales forecast, Kia head office has reaffirmed plans for a new electric ute aimed at the US market – three years after it was first announced – for which it is targeting 90,000 sales per year.
The car giant has identified the Rivian R1T and Ford F-150 as key rivals for the new pick-up, so it will be a size larger than the Tasman, and will claim "best-in-class interior space and cargo capacity," plus a focus on towing.
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
