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The Kia Tasman was revealed a little more than a month ago, and as the teaser images and spy shots suggested, its styling is rather unconventional. Despite that, it’s created quite the buzz, not just in the markets where it will be sold, but also those for which it is yet to be confirmed or has been ruled out. While we cannot say whether the Tasman will make it to the US market to do battle with the likes of the Toyota Tacoma in the midsize pickup segment, we can confirm that its list of potential rivals will come to include the Ford F-150 Lightning; the Tasman will become an EV.

Speaking at a media roundtable attended by CarBuzz yesterday (following our exclusive ridealong in the new Tasman – keep an eye out for that feature), Kia South Africa Head of Marketing Christo Valentyn said, “I’m probably not supposed to say this, but… an electric one is coming.”

Ending Months Of Speculation

Previously, Kia had indicated that the platform was modular enough to accommodate a variety of powertrains, but there was never any confirmation of an EV, besides from unsubstantiated sources. This is the first time that a Kia official has explicitly confirmed that the Tasman EV will enter production, and it makes sense. Parent company Hyundai Motor Group has committed to a $12.6 billion investment in US-based production facilities, including two battery joint ventures in Georgia and the company’s massive Metaplant, also in the Peach State. Once those come online, it would surely be worth at least considering selling an electric pickup in America.

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Thanks to the 25% tariffs the Tasman would face under the Chicken Tax if imported from its production facility in Hwaseong, South Korea, it would be very difficult to enter the market competitively, and the focus for Kia with this pickup, besides rugged off-road dependability and stand-out styling, is on getting the pricing right. To that point, Valentyn noted that “you have to be respectful of the segment-leaders,” meaning Ford and Toyota. Being competitive in America may require local production, and for an EV, that could be a little easier to achieve.

An Electric Tasman May Take A While To Arrive

Kia South Africa Director of Sales and Marketing Albrecht Gründel said Tasman pickups would arrive at South African dealers in the middle of 2025, much like other markets, but a US launch has still not been detailed. In Australia, it’s expected that a plug-in hybrid version of the Tasman’s 2.5-liter gas engine will arrive within the first-generation’s lifecycle, potentially even before the start of 2026.

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Some reports suggest this powertrain could find a home in the Palisade and Telluride, too. Since the modular architecture of the Tasman was always intended to accommodate so many different powertrains, we imagine the EV won’t take much longer to arrive either. Pencil in 2027 as the earliest the Tasman EV arrives on the market. Hopefully, the electric version will make it to America. With over 18,000 miles of off-road torture during development to ensure the regular Tasman is a capable pickup, we suspect the electric version will be just as practical, but it’ll be a while yet before we can accurately theorize about its true potential.