Kia Tasman name filed, a Korean challenger to the Hilux with an Aussie-inspired name

Australian automotive media, Drive have reported that Kia has filed a trademark application for the “Kia Tasman” name in several global patent offices including in Australia and New Zealand. There are speculations that the Tasman name could be used on the Korean carmaker’s upcoming pick-up truck.

The name was filed under a few categories related to motor vehicles including “automobiles” and “trucks”. Tasman has significant meaning Down Under as it refers to the Trans-Tasman link and the Tasman Sea that separates both Australia and New Zealand.

The name is also a reference to the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman who was the first European to discover Tasmania Island. In motorsports, the Tasman Series which was held between 1964 to 1975 was an important race series in Australia and New Zealand that saw many veteran Formula One drivers compete during the off-season.

The Austronesian name is also significant to the upcoming Kia pick-up truck as the model is mainly developed in Australia. Development of the Kia pick-up truck has been ongoing since 2020 and is expected to be powered by a diesel engine with no plans for a petrol unit.

Though there are no details on what engine could power Kia’s Hilux rival, it could be the Smartstream D3.0 turbodiesel 6-cylinder engine currently only offered on the Genesis GV80. That 3.0-litre unit produces 278 PS and 588 Nm which would make the Kia “Tasman” the most powerful diesel pick-up truck in Australia.

By comparison, the highest output for the Toyota Hilux which is also Australia’s best-selling car is 150 PS/500 Nm while the Ford Ranger Raptor diesel makes 210 PS/500 Nm.

According to reports by Drive, the Kia pick-up truck would be underpinned by a newly developed ladder-frame chassis and has a payload of up to 1,000 kg. The truck would be wholly developed by Kia themselves and would represent the Korean carmaker’s first foray into the pick-up truck market.

Kia’s partner, Hyundai, currently has the Santa Cruz pick-up truck in the United States though that is more of a lifestyle pick-up than a proper workhorse. Unlike Kia’s upcoming pick-up truck, the Santa Cruz is based on the Hyundai Tucson with a unibody chassis but it remains to be seen whether the new truck would also be given a Hyundai badge.

Also read: Not your Hilux, the Hyundai Santa Cruz is a unibody, pick-up version of the Tucson