Kia Prepping Electrified, Body-on-Frame Pickup for the U.S. Market

Kia will launch a new midsize body-on-frame pickup aimed at the U.S. market before the end of the decade, the Korean carmaker’s CEO revealed during a Kia Investors Day presentation on Wednesday.

Sharing platforms with the upcoming Hyundai Boulder SUV, it will be offered with a variety of gas, hybrid, and extended-range electric vehicle powertrains.

Kia will charge into the growing U.S. market for midsize pickups with the launch of a new, body-on-frame package before the end of the decade, CEO Ho Sung Song announced on Wednesday.

The truck will be one in an assortment of new models now under development by Kia’s parent, the Hyundai Motor Group. The larger of the two brands revealed some of its own plans last week at the New York International Auto Show, unveiling the Hyundai Boulder SUV concept and announcing it is also working up a midsize pickup.

Kia positioned its truck as a rugged go-anywhere package. A concept version shown during the automaker’s annual Investors Day event featured heavy cladding, the sort of ground clearance reserved for serious off-road models, and what appeared to be ruggedized bumpers and skid plates. The automaker also indicated the truck will be offered with a variety of different powertrains.

What We Know About the New Truck

The pickup will be based on an entirely new body-on-frame architecture, the first developed by the Hyundai Motor Group. It will serve as the platform for a wide range of different light trucks, including SUVs for the Hyundai, Genesis, and Kia brands, officials have confirmed.

Song suggested it will target an “untapped” market, in part, by offering a mix of different powertrains. These will include internal combustion engines, conventional hybrids, and extended-range electric vehicles.

Initial reports from Seoul suggested there might be an all-electric powertrain in the mix, but an insider subsequently cautioned that this has not been confirmed, suggesting it was the result of a translation mistake. The Kia global media site specifically refers to “HEV and EREV variants.”

Kia made it clear, however, that the new truck will feature serious off-road and towing capabilities, a teaser image flashed during Song’s presentation showing it pulling a camper trailer.

Targeting North America

Kia has become one of the fastest-growing brands in the U.S. market with a mix of products ranging from the little Seltos to the newly redesigned three-row 2027 Telluride.

It currently offers a small pickup, the Tasman, in Europe and Asian markets. But it is waiting until it can deliver a more rugged package for the U.S., officials explained.

To get there, it is working with the Hyundai Motor Group to come up with a body-on-frame platform that can be used for a variety of different applications by all three HMG brands: Hyundai, Genesis, and Kia.

In New York last week, Hyundai America President and CEO Jose Muñoz helped reveal the Boulder concept while announcing the Hyundai brand would get its own body-on-frame pickup. Insiders told GearJunkie that Hyundai and Kia are battling it out internally to see which brand will come to market first. Either way, several models based on the new platform will reach U.S. showrooms by 2030, they stressed.

Big (Midsized) Pickup Plans

Kia has big aspirations for the new pickup, Song indicating plans to sell about 90,000 of them annually in North America. By comparison, Chevrolet sold 107,867 of its comparably sized Colorado in the U.S. last year, 116,740 when Canada is added in. The big gun in the segment is the Toyota Tacoma; however, that automaker reported North American sales of 274,638 in 2025.

The exact timing of the launch is uncertain. Kia CEO Song indicated the new pickup will be out no later than 2030. But it could reach the market a bit earlier based on what Muñoz told GearJunkie during an interview last week. The key factor is the need to expand U.S. production, Muñoz said, adding that the group is likely not only to increase capacity at its current plants but also to add another factory somewhere in the States.

Midsized Trucks: Plenty of Competition

A decade ago, the midsize truck market seemed little more than a niche, certainly when compared to full-size pickups. At one point, buyers had only the Tacoma and Nissan Frontier to choose from. Then, a flood of new entries landed in showrooms, including the revived Colorado and near-twin GMC Canyon as well as the reborn Ford Ranger. Honda charted its own course with the unibody Ridgeline.

Several EV startups took aim, as well, though most, including Lordstown Motors and Canoo, failed to get off the ground. The Rivian R1T is the only serious offering at this point. But Volkswagen’s Scout brand is set to enter the market with both all-electric and range-extended versions of the new Terra. And Kia’s truck will also face off against the pickup sibling Hyundai brings to market.