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Has Tasman failed Hyundai test?
Richard Bosselman
August 14, 2025
Politics, powertrain thoughts drive big bro of brand family to favour GM co-share to Kia’s home-grown ute, reports suggest.
DOUBT about Kia’s new Tasman ute being quite the right stuff has reportedly raised from an unexpected quarter - the other big make in the Korean brand family.
The founder marque within the Hyundai Motor Company has confirmed it is working on two utes - one compact, the other medium. The latter is set to be a global product, including for Australasia all going well, and aligned to pitch against the one-tonne choices Kiwis are used to.
These are likely to be out within two years. But neither seem set to draw anything substantial from the Tasman, which is just coming on sale now.
Rather, both are said to be collaborations with General Motors - the smaller will be GM-led; the larger will have more intensive Hyundai involvement.
The partnership between GM and Hyundai has been primarily explained by Seoul.
One driver is that it will help Hyundai avoid tariffs in the US. The suggested outcome is that the body-on-frame mid-size ute will not be built in South Korea, at least for North America, so as to avoid Trump taxes.
Cold-shouldering Tasman might seem a strange turn given how closely Hyundai and Kia work together - while their fleets are not wholly twinned, there is a high level of technology, powertrain and platform sharing.
But other reports yesterday also lay out apparent reasons for reluctance in repurposing the Tasman behind the ‘H’ badge.
One thought raised is in respect to the Kia’s choice of engine.
Conceived to sell in a sector dominated by the Ford Ranger, but in which the Toyota Hilux, Mitsubishi Triton and Nissan Navara also stand out as strong sellers - with growing penetration by some Chinese entrants - Kia’s first ute entirely relies on a four-cylinder turbodiesel making 154kW and 440Nm and married to an eight-speed automatic.
The unit is the latest development the famous R power plant, which dates back to 2006. It has served famously well in several past generations of the Hyundai Santa Fe and Palisade and Kia Sorento but has been shelved for those products in their latest formats. Air cleanliness concerns have pushed those models into pure and hybrid petrol.
In Tasman the diesel makes 154kW and 441Nm. The power figure stacks up well alongside the four-cylinder Ford Ranger 2.0-litre biturbo (also 154kW) and Toyota HiLux (150kW). The torque falls below those popular utes (500Nm each) as well as the 3.0-litre Isuzu D-Max (450Nm) and the Mitsubishi Triton (470Nm). This writer can attest that the difference in muscularity is felt on the move.
Regardless, the report suggests Hyundai itself believes it would be more prudent for its own utes to have petrol and electrification - neither of which seem likely for Tasman.
Electric assist is an emerging choice; the BYD Shark, new Ranger PHEV and the GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV are already starters here.
Petrol and electric-assist powertrains also seem the preference for the GM sister products which are primarily going to sell in North and South America (where Tasman isn’t offered).
Reports include one published by carsguide.com.au website which also quotes Hyundai Australia boss Don Romano as saying the medium Hyundai ute is a high priority.
His personal preference is to have petrol, petrol hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrain, maybe even a fully electric (BEV) - but not diesel. The report quotes him as saying: “Australia doesn't need another diesel ute”.
He went on to say “I think we have to look at options. And I can't tell you whether that's a PHEV, a HEV or a BEV but I think those are options that have to be considered. And I think those are the areas that will give us an opportunity for expansion.”
While he wishes the Tasman well, Romano contends it just wouldn’t be wise for Hyundai to “come out with a diesel based on the Tasman body. So we want to look at different options.”
So insofar as taking the Tasman and turning it into a Hyundai? “We would not be doing that. Could we use some of that technology that they have, or the base of it? Possibly.”
One aspect Romano steers clear of is something Kiwi consumers are now confronting - Tasman’s highly-polarising styling, so controversial Kia has already begun a redesign.
Kia NZ has begun its Tasman push with five four-wheel-drive double cab editions, from $52,690 TX up to $79,690 X-Pro formats.
The cab chassis (above) is also in production and a sports utility wagon variant is said to be in development.
The model also lands with a five star score from the national crash test safety auditor, ANCAP, but this doesn’t cover all versions.
The X-Line and X-Pro variants that will potentially be considered by families and fun-seekers, as well as rear-wheel-drive, and upcoming single-cab and dual cab-chassis variants that aim more at working use remain unrated.
The Hyundai-GM alliance, meantime, is expected to also in time spawn a mid-size SUV, a passenger car, and car-based ute — presumably a follow-up of Hyundai’s successful Santa Cruz.
President and chief executive of Hyundai Motor Company José Muñoz said: “Hyundai’s strategic collaboration with GM will help us continue to deliver value and choice to our customers across multiple vehicle segments and markets.”