Massive Tasman sales target
BY MATT CAMPBELL | 11th Nov 2024
KIA Australia has reiterated its intent to sell a massive number of Tasman ute models, despite an unprecedented negative response to the styling of the brand’s new model.
Commenters and potential customers have come out in droves to criticise the look of the Tasman ute, but the brand insists that smart buyers will see the strengths of the packaging, off-road ability and usability of the new diesel pick-up and cab-chassis ute line-up.
Kia Australia hief operating officer Dennis Piccoli said the South Korean manufacturer's first ute needs to sell in big numbers for it be considered a success.
“There is a significant pool of people who want an exceptionally dependable two-litre-plus, four-cylinder engine that can be there every single day with them at work and not be on the side of the road because it's broken down, and we've decided to afford the energy to being something that's dependable.
“It's going to have your back and have a bold stance in character. That's the reason we have aspirations of seven to 10 per cent of the market, circa 20,000 (sales in its first full calendar year),” said Mr Piccoli.
For context, that would mean the Kia Tasman would have to outsell the likes of the Mitsubishi Triton, Nissan Navara, Mazda BT-50 and Volkswagen Amarok, not to mention budget-focused models like the GWM Ute and KGM SsangYong Musso.
It would also come close to Kia’s own top seller, the Sportage medium SUV, which is on track to reach 22,000 deliveries by the end of this year, while the Cerato small hatch and sedan is the only other Kia model to hit five digits and should end 2024 with around 16,500 sold.
“Our strategy would be different if we were going for a bigger slice, and we wanted to grab additional portions of that market,” he said.
“The team has been quite measured and focused on the core first, and then from there, the evolution will come, depending on the product and its life stage and life cycle.”
When asked if there is room for a flagship product to rival the likes of the Ranger Raptor with its twin-turbo petrol V6 engine, Mr Piccoli said the company is aware there is a market for such a model albeit a small customer pool.
“In terms of the size of this pie, it's pretty big – 250,000 circa, of which, yes, a portion of the people who want the V6 twin-turbo top end. We got some indicative data on those Ranger Raptor numbers,” he said.
For Kia Australia, the success of the ute is obviously a vital component for its future plans, according to Mr Piccoli.
“Ultimately it has to bring in incremental sales to the business. And it's not all about cannibalisation of existing (vehicles in the line-up) and obviously we've got nothing like Tasman in the range that we're really worried it's going to cannibalise anyway.
“Success will be measured, if all the regions that committed to their respective sales plans, deliver on that respective sales plan,” he said.
“And if we do, then we'll continue on, and there'll be a generation two, but obviously this one now, the focus is to get this one right – and it's got a good, long, light commercial vehicle product lifecycle – and we'll continue to evolve with the market,” he said.
“And if we do, then we'll continue on, and there'll be a generation two, but obviously this one now, the focus is to get this one right – and it's got a good, long, light commercial vehicle product lifecycle – and we'll continue to evolve with the market,” he said.
Kia Australia’s expert ride and handling tuner Graeme Gambold said the Tasman will not disappoint when it comes to off-roading – indeed, he referenced the standard Ford Ranger as a benchmark for the ute’s development program.
“Tasman is a very capable vehicle off-road, but we've also tried to balance that (with daily driving manners),” he said.
“We are strongly balancing that with 80 per cent of the market usage, which is driving down a country road, 100km/h – so we've chosen for our development program some really typically tough Australian roads.
“That's not desert roads, that's east coast rough tarmac, making sure that it's good for the farmer who's an everyday driver,” he said.
The Tasman will be offered in 4x2 and 4x4 model lines, with a mix of single-cab-chassis, dual-cab-chassis and dual-cab pick-up bodystyles offered. There will be no space-cab/extra-cab model, as the market is too small, according to Kia.
At launch, all versions of the Kia Tasman will be offered with a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine with 154kW and 441Nm. Kia is targeting fuel use of approximately 7.5 litres per 100km.
The Kia Tasman ute range will go on sale around mid-2025.
