Report: Kia could be making a pickup truck very soon

In the realm of midsize pickups, the dominant players are typically Japanese brands like Toyota, Nissan, and Mitsubishi, along with Ford. However, there are now a couple of contenders emerging from unexpected corners of the market, namely Chinese and South Korean manufacturers.

Chinese automakers Great Wall and Foton have set their sights on gaining a larger share of the highly competitive midsize truck segment. However, another unexpected player has joined the race to challenge the established Japanese and American brands—South Korea.

That's right, Kia, a South Korean automaker, is gearing up to take on the big names in pickup truck manufacturing. Spy photos of the upcoming Kia truck have even surfaced, showing prototypes being tested on the roads of its home country, as reported by Australian motoring website Car Expert.

Based on the sightings of these prototypes, it appears that the truck is already in an advanced stage of development. Reports suggest that the new Kia pickup, internally known as the TK, will be officially unveiled by 2025. Notably, the vehicle is expected to utilize a traditional body-on-frame chassis rather than a unibody platform.

Interestingly, Kia already has experience with a ladder-frame chassis, which is employed in their Mohave SUV. Not sure if some of you remember, but the Mojave was once offered in our market back in the early 2010s. In fact, some of the spy shots and renders reveal prototypes using the Mohave as a base vehicle. This could offer some insights into the powertrain options we might expect from the upcoming pickup. 

In its home market of South Korea, the Mohave SUV is equipped with a 3.0-liter V6 turbodiesel engine, generating 256 horsepower and 560 Nm of torque. This power output places it in a similar range as the six-cylinder diesel variant of the Ford Ranger. However, it is worth noting that Kia has a range of engines within the Hyundai-Kia family that could potentially be fitted to the Kia TK. One possibility is the 2.2-liter four-cylinder turbodiesel found in models like the Sorento and Carnival, which produces 192 horsepower and 441 Nm of torque, which is more geared towards the needs of our local market.