KIA

Kia suggests a seven-seater SUV based on the Tasman pickup

After rumors about a 4×4 jeep in the style of the Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler, Kia is now thinking about another derivative of the Tasman pickup, a seven-seater SUV with a frame chassis.

This is a product that could rival players such as the Chevrolet Trailblazer, Toyota SW4 and Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, among others not sold in Brazil.

In Australia, where the Tasman is being sold, Kia revealed to the Carsales website, through Graeme Gambold, the brand's representative in the country, the idea of ​​a large SUV derived from the Tasman for 2029.

This derivative of the Tasman makes perfect sense, since the pickup is Kia's global mid-size model and, like the S10, Hilux and Triton, respectively, could have a seven-seater derivative.

An SUV derived from the Tasman could also serve the needs of the Mitsubishi Pajero Full and be an alternative to Land Cruiser variants, such as the Prado, for example.

With this, Kia would open a new frontier for its product, which would thus reach many more markets around the world, especially in regions such as Latin America, Africa and Central Asia, in addition to the markets already reached by the Tasman.

Dean Norbiato, Kia's head of marketing, said: "If the Tasman is a success, it will open a lot of doors, so let's start by getting the Tasman right. Once we get that right, we can move on from there."

Norbiato added: "Let's take a deep breath, the media was asking for a pickup truck 10 years ago."

Gambold added: "The target audience for SUV users is very broad compared to other cars; for some it needs to be a farm pickup, and for others it needs to be a family SUV."

The executive concluded: “You can’t be everywhere. We’re probably a little bit different than Ford; we’ve chosen to go a little bit more into the traditional SUV market, whereas they’ve tried to go a little bit more into SUVs than traditional SUVs.”

[Projection: @Throttle]