The Kia truck has been spied in an underground parking lot, and Tesla talks about a next-generation platform.
This is AM Drive, Motor1's daily look at the news you need before you get in your car.
Kia Pickup Spied Up Close
After bolstering its portfolio with lots of SUVs, sedans, and hatchbacks, Kia is preparing to enter the lucrative full-size pickup segment. Unlike the company's Bongo over-cab pickup, this new model has global aspirations. Ahead of its reveal, a heavily camouflaged prototype has been filmed up close.
Spotted in an underground parking lot in South Korea, Kia's workhorse had a double cab body style hiding beneath all that disguise. Judging by the cutouts in the camo, it appeared to have a Telluride-esque front fascia with vertical headlights flanking a wide grille. However, the two are unlikely to share the platform since the ute is expected to adopt a ladder frame chassis whereas the full-size SUV has a unibody construction.
Believed to be called the Kia Tasman, the pickup sat on 17-inch wheels with Kumho Crugen 265/65 R17 tires. It's believed to be closer in size to the Ford Ranger rather than the compact Maverick, although it's frankly hard to tell judging by this spy video. We do get a peek inside where you can tell it's just a prototype judging by the cheap looking plasticky door panels.
There is something interesting going on next to the gear lever. We see switches for 2H, 4H, 4L modes. That means this prototype has selectable two-wheel drive and a low-range four-wheel drive for when the going gets tough.
Australian magazine Car Sales reports a four-cylinder 2.2-liter diesel will deliver power to the wheels through either automatic or manual transmissions. Aside from this four-door version, the Kia Tasman is allegedly going to be offered as a single cab and even as a chassis cab for commercial purposes. Further down the line, a purely electric setup is said to hit the market.
The Tasman (codenamed "TK") is going to be built at home in Korea and could be officially announced as early as this March. The design is said to be revealed in the fourth quarter of 2024 ahead of next year's market launch. A bigger electric Kia truck made in North America is rumored to arrive before the end of the decade.
Tesla Working On Next-Gen Platform
Tesla's fourth-quarter earnings report includes some juicy tidbits extracted from an otherwise lengthy press release chock-full of figures. The company is working on a next-generation platform it reckons will "revolutionize how vehicles are manufactured." The goal is to bring this new architecture to the market as soon as possible and build EVs utilizing this hardware at Gigafactory Texas.
Tesla goes on to say that it has made progress with the new platform but without going into details. However, Reuters reports suppliers have been informed of a new compact crossover codenamed "Redwood." It's reportedly scheduled to enter production in June 2025. The timeline would align with Elon Musk's statement in a post-earnings call during which he said a next-gen EV would hit the assembly line in Texas from the second half of 2025.
This entry-level Tesla is planned with a tentative starting price of $25,000. It would allow the company to better compete with gasoline cars as well as the influx of affordable Chinese EVs. Right now the most attainable Tesla in the United States is the Model 3, priced from $38,990 (before incentives).
After starting production in Texas in mid-2025, Tesla could also add the cheap crossover to its upcoming Gigafactory Mexico near Monterrey. Reuters claims a decision about the location of a third factory where the EV would be assembled, outside North America, will be taken later this year.
