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A boost is coming for slower-than-forecast Kia Tasman sales next year, but the car giant has pulled back on a target to outperform the Triton, BT-50 and, now, Shark 6 next year.
Kia has acknowledged that its Tasman ute may not have gone into production without an "ambitious" target to outsell giants such as the Mitsubishi Triton and Mazda BT-50 – a goal that has now been wound back for 2026.
The South Korean car giant set itself a bold goal of selling 20,000 Tasmans in its first 12 months – or 10,000 vehicles in 2025, as it launched in July – to place as the country's fourth-best-selling ute, behind the D-Max, Ford Ranger, and Toyota HiLux.
Yet just 3716 have been reported as sold to the end of November 2025, which extrapolates to 4300 deliveries in 2025, or about 8900 over a 12-month period, less than half of Kia's target.
Rather than fourth, the Tasman has only been the ninth best-selling 'mid-size' ute over the past four months, ahead of the Nissan Navara but behind even the budget-priced GWM Cannon.
Kia Australia executives have now walked back from placing a deadline on when the 20,000 sales target will be reached, and say they will not aggressively discount – or attempt anything "irresponsible" – to hit the number.
"We set very ambitious targets for ourselves, and it's important that we did, to be honest with you, because it helped get the vehicle green-lit for our market, and for the world," Kia Australia general manager of product planning Roland Rivero told Drive.
"But, in essence, it's not about a race to 20,000. That's still our ultimate goal, let's just say, but with the half a year that's gone by, we probably didn't foresee what would happen in the marketplace.
"First and foremost, just how fragmented the market has become, that ute category is growing by the moment in terms of variations, and not just powertrains or whatnot, but the number of competitors and OEMs that are entering that respective category."
Rivero said Kia is "not too upset" about the Tasman's "private and retail sales", referencing regular Australians who walk into Kia dealers to buy a ute, either as a private purchase or linked to their ABN.
"They're predominantly selling in that X-Line, X-Pro category, but where we see work that needs to be done is in the fleet space," said the executive.
"We're working through that; various fleet evaluation vehicles are on loan at the moment with numerous fleets, and we're working towards establishing those relationships and turning them into units sold in 2026.
"We anticipate that there will be some growth, particularly in the fleet side of it, particularly on the S-series in 2026."
Kia has previously forecast the 'X-Series' models – the flagship X-Line and X-Pro dual-cab 4x4s, aimed at family and lifestyle customers with $70,000 to $80,000 to spend – to account for 35 per cent of deliveries over the Tasman's life.
The remaining 65 per cent would be accounted for by the 'S-Series', across S, SX and SX+ grades – the cheaper models offered in a broader range of configurations, and popular with fleets.
Rivero said Kia has not set a "definitive timeline" for when the Tasman will hit 20,000 annual sales, but that "it's still very much what we want to achieve", and hinges on fleet contracts coming through.
Fleet customers may also gravitate to the final body style in the Tasman range yet to launch, the single-cab chassis, which Rivero said has commenced production this month, ahead of arrivals in the "early part of 2026".
"Our accessories weren't 100 per cent on time either, and now they're in the full mix. So I think we only see growth and momentum moving forward from this point on," he said.
Kia has already rolled out discounts across the Tasman range, including an effective $6971 off the X-Line via a $3000 discount and free 'Sports Pack', comprised of a soft tonneau cover, sports bar, side steps, and metallic paint.
That offer has since been phased out, replaced by a complimentary soft tonneau, tubular side steps, and tow bar kit on pick-up models, plus a deposit contribution of $2000 to $4000 on dual-cabs via Kia Finance.
While special offers have already begun, Rivero said Kia will not "bastardise the product" to get Tasman sales to 20,000.
"Did we aim for 20,000 from the get go? Yes. But we're not going to get ourselves caught in a situation where we are hurting brand and profitability in order to get there," he told Drive.'
"Our aim is to organically get there. Obviously there's gonna be a bit of a push, and that's through relationships with fleets – loans, vehicle evaluations, et cetera.
"But we won't do it in an irresponsible manner that hurts our dealer network and profitability, et cetera."
Unlike rivals Ford and Isuzu, a broader range of models allows Kia to split its sales more evenly across its line-up, and not need to rely on one vehicle – Tasman or otherwise – to prop up its brand.
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
