It’s going to be a busy year for Kia which plans to debut three new models at the New York International Auto Show next week, including two new EVs. But the automaker hinted at yet another intriguing product in the pipeline during an Investors Day conference in Seoul, an upcoming all-electric pickup. Headlight.News has more.
Kia plans to roll out three new products at next week’s New York International Auto Show.
Kia’s product development team is nothing, if not busy. The Korean carmaker has promised to roll out five new products this year and three of them are scheduled to make their debut at the New York International Auto Show next week.
In a teaser release, Kia said the debuts will “span distinct model lines,” and cover everything “from sedan to SUV to something in between.”
Meanwhile, company officials offered still more insight during the annual Kia Investors Day summit back in Seoul, confirming long-standing rumors that it will bring a pickup to the North American market. Make that an all-electric pickup and one that the automaker suggests could readily outsell the other EV trucks now on the market, such as the Ford F-150 Lightning and much-troubled Tesla Cybertruck.
What we know: Kia EV pickup
Kia currently markets the gas-powered Tasman pickup in much of the world. But the EV pickup is expected to be a ground-up development.
The automaker offered up relatively few details about the battery-powered pickup. What we can deduce, however, is what it won’t be. Don’t expect a version of the current Kia Tasman sold in Korea and many other global markets – but not the U.S.
clone of the compact Santa Cruz. Nor will it be a Kia take on the compact, gas-powered Santa Cruz sold by its sibling Korean brand Hyundai.
Kia CEO Ho Sung Song described it as a midsize package, more in line with Tasman, but all-electric. It should be more of a classic truck in terms of capabilities, including a “robust towing system,” he said. And it will take advantage of what appears likely to follow today’s norm, a skateboard-style platform moving its battery pack and drivetrain below the load floor. That would free up space to provide what was described as “best-in-class interior and cargo space.”
In terms of sales, Kia officials said they see the opportunity to deliver 90,000 of the electric trucks annually, slightly more than the sales Tasman currently is generating. And that would exceed what Ford, Chevrolet, GMC – and Tesla – have so far been able to muster for their own battery-electric pickups.
What we know: What’s coming to New York
Kia’s EV4 made its debut in concept form at the 2023 LA Auto Show.
At least one of the products bound for the Big Apple seems obvious: the new EV4 battery-electric vehicle which will come in as a more affordable option than the automaker’s current EV6 package.
We first got a glimpse of the EV4 in concept form at the 2023 Los Angeles Auto Show and it closely resembled the bigger, more expensive crossover, albeit with a lower stance and a more coupe-like roofline. The show car maintained the brand’s EV signatures, including a sealed grille and the brand’s “Star Map” lighting.
Whether there will be many changes to such details in production is something we’ll find out next week, but expect to see the production EV4 retain the prototypes crisp angles and squared-off wheel arches, design elements meant to stress the concept’s width and give it a muscular appearance.
Along with the even smaller EV3 first seen in LA, Kia was hoping to perk interest in smaller, more affordable EVs and response has been extremely positive, justifying the decision to put EV4 into production for the U.S. market. We’ll have to wait for the NYIAS to get more details but expect to see the battery-electric crossover reach showrooms in time for the 2026 model year. But there’s been interesting speculation about a high-performance N package and possibly more than one body style.
More Kia News
- Kia Explores Pickup, Other “White Space” Opportunities
- Kia Reveals 3 EVs in “Mainstream” Blitz
- Take a Closer Look at the Edgy Kia PV5
What else is coming to the NYIAS
Kia’s Concept EV3 is more of a tall, square subcompact SUV, and the square serves as the design’s compass.
Based on the teaser Kia released, expect to see two additional debuts all but certainly targeting different product segments – and relying on gas or gas-electric hybrid powertrain technologies. (We’re bettering both.)
That “something in-between” would suggest a hatchack is in the offing for one of the remaining NYIAS debuts. And, based on what the automaker has previously talked about, there’d be a good reason to bet on the arrival of the K4 five-door. As with the current K4, expect this to rely on th “normally aspirated” drivetrain Kia said will be in New York.
What might be the final debut? We know there will be two all-electric models. The options thus seem limited to either the tiny Kia EV3 that also debuted in Los Angeles in November 2023, or the slightly bigger EV5. Of course, there is the slight chance Kia could pull off a real surprise. The automaker has promised to roll out 15 EVs by 2030.
“We can’t wait to pull the covers off these exciting new vehicles and the New York International Auto Show is the perfect venue for just such an occasion,” said Steven Center, COO & EVP, Kia America.
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