Kia Is Cooking Up a Truck
Kia is developing a mid-size pickup truck that the company expects will be in production as early as 2022, according to CarsGuide.
Kia Australia boss Damien Meredith told the news outlet that work has already started on the truck.
That makes South Korea's auto industry two-for-two for expressing an interest in joining the pickup marketplace. Hyundai confirmed two years ago that its first-ever North American truck, the Santa Cruz, would become a reality, but didn't provide a timeline. It showed the Santa Cruz as a concept at the 2015 Detroit auto show.
Meredith said that he wants Kia's unnamed pickup to come in single cab and four-door designs, but our inkling is North America would only get a four-door model to compete with existing mid-size trucks like the Ford Ranger, Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Terrain, and Toyota Tacoma.
Kia says its truck will not be a "lifestyle vehicle", but instead has been conceived as a full-fledged truck.
That's in contrast to Hyundai's idea for the Santa Cruz, which it pitched as a pickup for millennials and "urban adventurers". Kia's Meredith said its truck will ride on a new platform, but doesn't indicate whether it would be shared with the Santa Cruz.
