Kia’s upcoming ute, due in 2025, may very well be getting a distinctively Australian identify or, fairly, a distinctively Dutch one.

A trademark submitting lodged with IP Australia reveals Kia has trademarked the identify Tasman for a car.

It’s Kia’s solely native trademark submitting for a car identify previously 12 months.

The Tasman Sea is, in fact, the physique of water separating Australia and New Zealand and was named after Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, for whom the state of Tasmania was additionally named.

There’s an Australian reference to the brand new ute, being referred to internally as TK, as Kia’s engineers have been utilizing our ute-loving market as a take a look at mattress.

It has been benchmarked towards the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux and can pack diesel energy when it arrives right here in 2025.

“Kia is at the moment growing a future pickup truck mannequin that will likely be extremely succesful and match for objective. Further particulars will likely be confirmed in the end,” a Kia spokesperson mentioned late final month when questioned concerning the ute.

It has the potential to spice up Kia to new heights on the Australian gross sales charts – doubtlessly overtaking Mazda within the race for second place, behind market chief Toyota.

The corporate additionally plans to launch a devoted electrical ute, although it hasn’t confirmed whether or not that may come right here.

Kia has referred to the TK/Tasman as a “strategic mannequin for rising markets”, and commenced growth in 2020..

Prototypes have been spied testing in Korea disguised in sheetmetal from the venerable body-on-frame Mohave SUV.

Whether or not that means the TK/Tasman will supply the identical engine because the Mohave is unclear.

In Korea, the Mohave is powered by a 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel engine growing 189kW and 560Nm – the latter from 1500 to 3000rpm. For reference, the three.0-litre V6 diesel within the Ranger and Volkswagen Amarok develops 184kW and 600Nm.

The Mohave presents four-wheel drive with digital low-range and a spread of terrain modes very similar to Kia’s different SUVs. An eight-speed auto is customary.

Kia has homologated its newest 3.0-litre diesel to Euro 6 requirements, aligning it with emissions rules probably coming to Australia quickly, and at the moment in power in different markets around the globe. Few utes are at the moment EU6 licensed in Australia.

We may see Kia supply a number of engines to hit totally different value factors and regional calls for, with the model’s 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel one other potential starter.

A industrial model of this engine at the moment does service within the Hyundai Staria van, making 130kW/430Nm and teamed with an eight-speed computerized transmission.

Within the Staria it will get customary all-wheel drive, but it surely’s unclear whether or not Kia will keep on with this drivetrain or develop a extra rugged 4WD system akin to the Mohave’s.

In accordance with sellers briefed on the car, Kia has been benchmarking the TK towards the segment-leading Ranger and HiLux to “obtain towing capability and payload targets”.

That signifies Kia is working to make sure the TK meets the anticipated capabilities of a dual-cab ute in Australia, which means a braked towing capability of 3500kg and a payload across the 1000kg mark relying on variant.

It additionally guidelines out the ute being a Kia model of the softer, car-based Hyundai Santa Cruz provided in North America.

In accordance with leaked supplier data, engineers from Kia head workplace have been flown to Australia “on a number of events” to expertise opponents and native circumstances, so you’ll be able to count on the ute to be well-tailored to our roads.

The ute phase in Australia may look totally different by 2025 – Ford has confirmed a Ranger plug-in hybrid is launching in Europe in 2024, and it may very well be coming right here, whereas the subsequent Toyota HiLux is due across the similar time probably based mostly on the identical TNGA-F structure underpinning the LandCruiser, doubtlessly with hybrid and all-electric choices.

Past that, a brand new Mitsubishi Triton and Nissan Navara are on the horizon based mostly on frequent underpinnings. Mitsubishi can also be engaged on an electrical ute to sit down alongside the Triton, although it’s unclear whether or not that is coming to Australia.

China may even be within the combine, with GWM set to launch the Shanhai Cannon with diesel and hybrid choices earlier than the tip of 2023, whereas the even bigger King Kong Cannon is into consideration for the Australian market.

Ought to Kia’s ute put on the Tasman identify, it received’t be the primary time a car has accomplished so.

The 1970-72 Austin Tasman and Kimberley have been six-cylinder variations of the front-wheel drive 1800 “Landcrab”, modified by Leyland Australia to raised swimsuit the native market and battle the Ford Falcon, Holden Kingswood and Chrysler Valiant.

The Tasman was the extra reasonably priced of the 2, however neither have been in style and have been changed by the Leyland P76.