Recently Hyundai Motor Company unveiled the US strategic model ‘Santa Cruz’, a Tucson-based new unibody pickup bed that openned a new segment, the Sport Adventure Vehicle, but we are still waiting for Kia’s body-on-frame SUV and pickup. Now an interview with Kia Australia official said its not a priority.
Today, Australian automobile media CarsGuide share an article with an interview with Kia’s Australia official where they talked about the launch of the brand’s first authentic SUV is still expected to take several years longer, and that the project is not a priority. According to the media, Kia originally planned to introduce a dual-cab style pickup truck (UTE) to the market around 2022, but it is known that the project has been postponed due to an imbalance in the supply and demand of semiconductors for vehicles and delays in the production of new cars.
Ronald Libero, product manager for Kia Australia, said in an interview, “At the moment, it is first to take up the largest sales volume and development of a new car is not impossible, but the most important thing now is the model that takes up the largest sales volume.” He also said, “We plan to add a dual-cab style SUV in the future, but we are far from our current priority list.” In addition, Libero added, “There will be a lot in common with UTE-based large SUVs,” he added. “But now, it is at a low level in a number of global project priorities.”
A render from Kksstudio of the possible Kia body on frame pick-up
His remarks in this interview are similar to the advanced attitude of Andrew Tutah, head of Product at Hyundai Motor Australia who said, “There is a clear demand for a body-on frame SUV in the Australian market, but it takes a considerable challenge to bring it to market.”
Australian and North American media previously reported that Hyundai and Kia have body-on-frame SUV and pick-up derivative under consideration for a few years in order to compete with full-size SUVs such as Chevrolet Tahoe and Ford Expedition and to expand their market share in the SUV segment. Currently both brands have recognized large size SUVs, Palisade and Telluride respectively, but are still not enough to compete with Tahoe and Expedition.
