The Kia Tasman pickup debuted in October 2024 as the brand’s first truck that wasn’t a commercial vehicle. The model follows the classic recipe of a body-on-frame chassis, a solid rear axle, and a leaf-spring suspension. Customers have several powertrain options, including a turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder making 280 horsepower and a turbodiesel 2.2-liter four-cylinder with 210 horsepower. The pickup can tow a maximum of around 7,700 pounds and has a payload capacity of about 2,200 pounds.
Kia’s designers got creative when styling the Tasman. Chunky shapes dominate the truck’s exterior. The body has boxy fender flares and vertical, rectangular headlights. Buyers can outfit it with an enclosed storage container in the cargo bed, and it only adds to the rig’s stout aesthetic.
No Kia Tasman For The U.S.
While the Tasman is an intriguing truck, Americans shouldn’t expect to drive one. Kia never confirmed the model for the U.S., but it didn’t say the vehicle wouldn’t be coming to America, either. Now, that situation has changed.
A Kia representative confirmed to Car And Driver that the Tasman wasn’t coming to the U.S. This person said the brand wasn’t against selling a truck in this country, but the Tasman wasn’t going to be the one.
The decision isn’t surprising. The infamous Chicken Tax imposes a 25-percent tariff on imported light trucks in the U.S. The Tasman’s factory is in Hwaseong, South Korea. Automakers need to build their pickups in the U.S., Canada, or Mexico to be price competitive. This tax is part of the reason that foreign-market trucks such as the Volkswagen Amarok, Toyota Hilux, and Nissan Navara aren’t available in the U.S.
The Kia Tasman’s Future
Kia is still rolling out the Tasman in various markets, but the company is already planning on broadening the lineup. During a media roundtable, Kia South Africa Head of Marketing Christo Valentyn told our partners at CarBuzz: “I’m probably not supposed to say this, but… an electric one is coming.” Valentyn didn’t offer any other details about the Tasman EV.
TopSpeed’s Take
It always seemed unlikely that the Tasman would come to the U.S., but now we know for sure. With competitors like the Ford Ranger, Chevrolet Colorado, and
, the Kia would need to be a stellar truck to be competitive here.
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