The 2025 Kia Tasman will make its world debut in a fortnight at two global premiere events, staged simultaneously at the Jeddah motor show in Saudi Arabia and in Hobart, Tasmania.
Kia hasn’t formally announced the date for one of the biggest new model reveals of 2024, but a South Korean newspaper report last month claimed the Tasman would be unveiled at the Saudi Arabian motor show, which runs from October 29 to November 2.
Australian media have now also been invited by Kia Australia to the Apple Isle at the end of the month, coinciding with the Middle East event.
“Please join us for the Australian premiere of a very exciting and highly anticipated new Kia product,” the invitation reads.
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“That’s all we can confirm for now along with an indication of how the event will run… The Kia Australia team along with executive visitors from the Kia Design Center and Kia HQ APAC will be in attendance.”
“We look forward to seeing you in in Tasmania…”
That leaves little doubt the hotly anticipated Kia Tasman will break cover in Hobart and Jeddah at the same time, underlining the importance of the booming Australian ute market to the South Korean carmaker’s first global ute.
First customer deliveries of the all-new ute will take place in South Korea, South Africa, the Middle East and Australia by mid-2025.
The subject of an expensive and extensive teaser campaign, the Kia Tasman was developed at the request of Kia Australia and is currently undergoing durability testing around the world including locally.
Kia says it has completed 1777 specific tests over more than 18,000 rounds of evaluation.
Kia Australia executives stated long ago that the brand’s first direct competitor to the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux, two of Australia’s most popular models, will be available in a range of body styles and drivetrains.
While a battery-electric (EV) version is expected to appear around 12 months after its launch in 2026, the Tasman is expected to launch with the Hyundai Group’s 2.2-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine under the bonnet.
In the Kia Sorento SUV and Carnival people mover, this engine produces 148kW of power and 440Nm of torque.
However, we expect the outputs of the tried-and-proven turbo-diesel to be upped to at least 150kW/500Nm in order to compete with Australia’s top-selling utes.
That and a seven-year warranty should help Kia Australia hit its target of 20,000 incremental annual sales for the Tasman, which could see it eventually leapfrog Ford and Mazda to become the nation’s second most popular auto brand behind Toyota – up from fourth in 2023.
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