Seoul, March 9 (IANS) Kia, South Korea’s second-biggest carmaker, said on Sunday it has sold over 4,000 units of its first pickup truck, the Kia Tasman, less than a month since its release, raising expectations it will revitalize the local pickup truck market.
Kia sold more than 4,000 Tasman trucks in February, a feat achieved in just 17 days since its first-ever pickup truck was launched here on Feb. 13, according to company officials, reports Yonhap news agency.
The tally marks nearly 30 percent of all pickup trucks sold here in the entire 2024.
In 2024, five major carmakers — Hyundai Motor Co., Kia, GM Korea Co., Renault Korea Motors Co. and KG Mobility Corp. (KGM) — sold a combined 13,475 pickup trucks in the country, according to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA).
The yearly figure has been on a constant decline from 42,619 in 2019 to 38,117 in 2020, 29,567 in 2021, 28,753 in 2022 and 17,455 the following year.
Market watchers said the domestic pickup truck demand has been falling due to a limited model lineup by the five automakers, but the appearance of the Kia Tasman may help boost consumer sentiment.
Only four pickup truck models, comprising two from KGM and the other two from GM Korea, had been available in South Korea before the release of the Kia Tasman.
The Kia Tasman made its debut at the 2024 Jeddah International Motor Show in Saudi Arabia.
The all-wheel-drive Tasman comes with a 2.5-liter turbocharged gasoline engine that produces 281 horsepower and an eight-speed automatic transmission, according to the company.
Meanwhile, Kia’s its monthly sales for February rose 4.5 percent from a year before, as the company saw increases in demand both at home and abroad.
Kia, an affiliate of local industry leader Hyundai Motor Co., sold 253,850 vehicles last month, up from 242,917 units in the same month last year, the company said.
Domestic sales increased 4.5 percent on-year to 46,003 units, while overseas sales gained 4.4 percent to 207,462 units.
By vehicle model, the Sportage sport utility vehicle (SUV) was the bestselling model in both domestic and overseas markets, with 46,287 units sold. It was followed by the Sorento and Seltos, selling 24,173 units and 24,040 units, respectively.
A Kia official said the company plans to maintain its sales gain momentum with launches of competitive new models, including the EV4 electric vehicle (EV) and the Tasman pickup truck, in the future.
—IANS
na/
