Kia Australia says other powertrains and variants of its Tasman may come during its likely long lifecycle, but don’t expect a Ford Ranger-rivalling V6.
“We wouldn’t completely close the door [on a V6] but we’ve got to be mindful of again, that word: NVES,” Kia Australia product planning general manager Roland Rivero told Australian media, noting the “huge” penalties that apply to brands that exceed their CO2 emissions targets.
“[If] you dissect the category, over 80 per cent of sales are still in the four-cylinder category and we’ve gone for that big 80 to start off with.
“We do have a long product life cycle and you never know, but at this point in time, it’s looking highly unlikely.”
Based on other ute’s life cycles, the current Tasman could stick around at least a decade.
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The rival Ford Ranger offers not only a turbo-diesel V6 to sit above its turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine, but also a twin-turbo petrol V6 in the hot Raptor.
“With the current movement in green car tech and government legislation, it’s going to be very, very difficult to have that type of powertrain,” said Mr Rivero.
“I understand the desirability for it. I understand how cool it can be, but we’ve got to play the balancing act as a business.
When asked whether hybrid or plug-in hybrid versions would come, Mr Rivero appeared to suggest it was a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if’.
“This will have a long product life as most light commercial vehicles do, and we’re mindful of what’s coming in the future, we’re mindful of NVES,” he said.
“So is HQ for that matter. They’re well aware and we are looking at powertrain options in the future that will help us navigate through NVES.”
BYD and Ford have already confirmed plug-in hybrid utes for Australia, while GWM has an available hybrid in its Cannon Alpha and will add a PHEV version next year.
When asked whether a higher-performance Tasman could adopt a plug-in hybrid powertrain instead of a V6 like the Ranger Raptor, Mr Rivero appeared to suggest this was a possibility.
“There are no real sacred cows at the moment from a green powertrain perspective,” he said.
The Tasman is launching in Australia in mid-2025 with a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine, though a 2.5-litre turbo-petrol four will be offered overseas.
The diesel – an updated version of the engine found in models like the Carnival and Sorento – produces 154kW of power and 441Nm of torque, and is mated with an eight-speed torque-converter automatic transmission.
While that power figure stacks up well alongside the four-cylinder Ford Ranger BiTurbo (154kW) and Toyota HiLux (150kW), the torque figure falls below those popular utes (500Nm each) as well as the 3.0-litre Isuzu D-Max and Mazda BT-50 (450Nm), and the Mitsubishi Triton (470Nm).
MORE: 2025 Kia Tasman revealed: Everything you need to know about the new HiLux, Ranger rival
