Kia To Launch Hybrid, Erev Body-on-frame Pickup Truck In The U.s. By 2030

KindelAuto via YouTube

Hyundai caused a large scatter astatine nan New York International Auto Show erstwhile it pulled nan covers disconnected its Boulder concept, a body-on-frame SUV aimed squarely astatine nan Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco that besides served arsenic confirmation Hyundai is moving connected a midsize pickup motortruck that will beryllium connected waste successful nan U.S. by 2030. Not to beryllium outdone, Kia conscionable officially announced it's also entering nan U.S. marketplace pinch a midsize body-on-frame pickup truck by 2030, powered by accepted hybrid and extended-range EV powertrains. We've sewage nary thought what it'll look like, but hopefully it won't beryllium arsenic butt-ugly arsenic nan Tasman pickup it sells successful different markets.

Kia says its caller motortruck will connection everything mid-size pickup motortruck buyers want: ample interior room, off-road capacity and nan expertise to tow immoderate you mightiness need. It moreover included a teaser image depicting what appeared to beryllium a double-cab pickup towing a camper, according to Automotive News. Just a twelvemonth ago, erstwhile we past told you astir this truck, Kia said it was going to beryllium offered pinch an electrical drivetrain, but it's not clear if that's nan lawsuit anymore — astatine nan very least, it wasn't mentioned successful Kia's latest statement. I suppose times are changing quickly. No matter nan drivetrain, it has to beryllium a hellhole of a instrumentality if it wants to return connected conception heavyweights for illustration nan Toyota Tacoma, Ford Ranger and Chevy Colorado.

As ever, Kia isn't shying distant from a lofty goal. During nan Korean automaker's Investor Day, CEO Ho Sung Song said nan extremity was to waste 90,000 trucks per twelvemonth and drawback 7% of nan midsize pickup conception by 2034. For reference, Toyota sold 274,638 Tacomas, Chevy sold 107,867 Colorados and Ford sold 70,960 Rangers successful 2025.

Of course, nary of those trucks connection thing adjacent to an EREV powertrain, and nan Tacoma is nan only midsize motortruck you tin only get arsenic a hybrid successful nan U.S. correct now. I suppose you could propulsion nan all-electric Rivian R1T successful pinch this group, but it acold eclipses each of them connected value and performance.

Kia

The body-on-frame truck, which would beryllium nan first specified conveyance from Kia since the Borrego SUV that only lasted 1 exemplary twelvemonth successful nan U.S. (but sewage a 2nd procreation successful Korea), is portion of Song's strategy to deed 1 cardinal income successful nan U.S. by expanding nan number of disposable hybrids from 5 vehicles to eight. Right now, nan only hybrids it sells are versions of nan Niro, Sportage, Sorento, Carnival and Telluride.

Due to nan accelerated changes of nan automotive world astir us, Kia is tempering its EV expectations for nan 2nd twelvemonth successful a row. Song says nan institution now expects to waste 1 cardinal EVs successful 2030. That's down from nan 1.3 cardinal he aimed for past year. Previously, that number was arsenic precocious arsenic 1.6 cardinal units. Still, it's not each bad successful Kia's world. Quite nan opposite, really. In nan U.S., Kia intends to make nan Sportage its first-ever azygous exemplary to transverse 200,000 sales, and it expects the caller Telluride's income to popular disconnected arsenic well.

There's still a batch we don't cognize astir Kia's upcoming truck, but based connected its caller way grounds of making deed aft hit, I've sewage a batch of assurance it tin propulsion disconnected thing great. I conscionable dream it doesn't look anything for illustration nan Tasman.