- Hyundai Motor Group’s new EV platform will underpin Kia’s electric pickup
- Kia’s new truck coming to the U.S., local production possible, too.
- The EV appears slightly larger than the brand’s Tasman truck
As Kia inches closer to unveiling the Tasman, a global mid-size pickup truck, the Korean manufacturer has started testing its second truck, which will be fully electric. A camouflaged prototype was recently filmed on public roads in the U.S.
The electric Kia pickup will serve as the latest entrant into a growing EV truck segment pioneered by the likes of the Tesla Cybertruck and Rivian R1T, although it’s unlikely Kia to chase performance figures like those two, and will probably be more similar to offerings from Ford, Chevrolet, and Ram.
Read: 2025 Kia Tasman Pickup Rendered To Reality And Everything Else You Need To Know
This prototype appears to have headlights and most of the front fascia lifted from the Kia EV9. It’s even finished in the same shade of matte blue as the EV9. The test truck is also fitted with the same taillights as the Hyundai Santa Cruz. While these lights suit the pickup quite well, we suspect they’ll be changed for the production model.
Compared to the Kia Tasman, the styling of the brand’s electric pickup appears slightly more conventional. Teasers and spy images of the Tasman have depicted it with odd black fender flares and an extremely unusual front end. Kia’s electric pickup will probably follow a similar design philosophy to the brand’s other EVs, including the EV5, updated EV6, and the EV9, and sport shapely and aggressive DRLs up front with similarly striking LEDs at the rear.
Little else is known about the pickup but it’s not expected to have a body-on-frame design like the Tasman. In early 2023, Hyundai indicated its second-generation EV platform to replace the E-GMP will support an electric truck.
Unlike the Tasman, Kia’s electric pickup will be sold in the U.S. but to avoid the 25% ‘Chicken Tax,’ it could be built locally.
