Tasman hybrid more likely than six-cylinder

KIA Australia may have just revealed its first diesel ute but there is already a good chance that petrol-electric hybrid variants could be introduced imminently for the Tasman line-up.

When it launches in Australia in 2025, the Kia Tasman will be offered exclusively with a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine and a choice of 4x2 or 4x4 variants across single-cab-chassis, dual-cab pick-up and dual-cab-chassis body styles.

The Tasman is poised to hit Australia's ute market in the target zone there, then, but there is already talk of what could come next from Kia Australia general manager of product planning Roland Rivero.

“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 of a rumoused six-cylinder Tasman variant.

“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 – and so is HQ, for that matter,” said Mr Rivero of the upcoming emissions legislation that will hit high-emitting diesel vehicles hard.

He said parent company Kia Motor Corporation is “well aware” of Australia’s impending New Vehicle Efficiency Standard.

"We are looking at powertrain options in the future that will help us navigate through NVES,” Mr Rivero said.

A petrol-electric hybrid like the GWM Cannon Alpha could be an option, and Kia does have a hybrid powertrain with turbo-petrol grunt in similarly hefty vehicles such as the Carnival people-mover and Sorento large SUV.

There is also a plug-in hybrid option for the Sorento, and that could give Kia a direct alternative to the keenly priced BYD Shark 6 dual-cab, which has just been listed at $57,900 plus on-roads as an introductory offer.

It means the notion of a lower-emitting electrified Tasman option is more of a priority than a more powerful, bigger diesel engine – and Mr Rivero all but confirmed that there’s nothing planned in the big-capacity diesel engine space.

“When 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,” Mr Rivero said.

When asked if there could be space for a six-cylinder version of the Tasman, the answer seemed an obvious one – legislation around emissions could kill that before it even gets here, if such a model is on the drawing board at all.

“We wouldn’t completely close the door (on a six-cylinder Tasman) but we’ve got to be mindful of that word, NVES,” he said, before suggesting that customers would need to foot the bill for “huge” emissions-based penalties to meet the ambitious CO2 targets of the legislation.

“We do have a long product life cycle and you never know,” he said. “But at this point in time, it’s looking highly unlikely … 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.”

Kia’s first dual-cab ute will hit showrooms in Australia in 2025, with the brand saying it still has targets and aspirations of capturing between seven and 10 per cent of segment sales volume – including a large proportion of those sales being taken up by fleet and business buyers.