More than a year ago, Kia announced plans to launch two electric trucks by 2027. One of them was apparently caught testing in California while wearing heavy camouflage. It’s not the recently announced Tasman, as that truck looks different and will have a combustion engine, at least initially. We’re obviously dealing with a test truck, as it uses parts from another model.
Although heavily camouflaged, we can see that the truck has the EV9’s headlights and mirrors, along with the Hyundai Santa Cruz’s taillights. The side mirror pillars are mounted slightly lower on the doors, while on the Tasman they are at the base of the A-pillar. Another difference we can see is the rounded wheel arches, rather than the more angular design of the Tasman. Additionally, the mysterious electric truck appears to have flat door handles.
Both trucks feature a double-cab body style with a relatively small cargo bed and a six-lug nut setup. Much like the Tasman recently caught in the United States, the electric pickups sport Michigan license plates. What else? Orange side markers on the headlights indicate that we’re dealing with a US-spec vehicle. It appears to have an EV9-style blue front bumper, but the rest of the truck is grey, save for the white mirrors and red tow hook covers.
Since this appears to be a test mule, a market launch is unlikely to occur until 2026. It’s unclear whether this is a modified EV9 truck or a separate model. The Tasman, which is due out next year in select regions with a turbodiesel engine, will use a body-on-frame platform. Kia released a video a few weeks ago about how it designed the vehicle. At one point, some pickups hiding under the red cover, as seen below.
When the announcement of the two electric trucks was made in March 2022, Kia said one would be a “specialty” model and the other a “strategic” vehicle for emerging markets. The Tasman is likely the latter as an EV derivative is expected to follow later this decade. What confuses us is that Kia is testing the Tasman in the US even though it has not been confirmed for North America, at least not yet.
Whatever the case, Kia apparently plans to launch at least one truck in North America in the next few years. Ideally, it will be built here. Otherwise, it will be in trouble. Chicken Taxa 25 percent tariff on imported light trucks in effect since 1964.
If it was manufactured elsewhere, it would not qualify for the $7,500 tax break for those who buy it outright rather than rent it. The EV9 will be produced at Kia's plant in West Point, Georgia. starting this month, meaning it will qualify for the full discount. However, that won’t happen anytime soon. The tax credit will kick in sometime next year when the battery packs are made at a plant in Savannah, Georgia.
