According to Automotive News, Kia Motors Corporation (KMC) is prepping to sell a domestic built mid-size pickup in the United States by 2011.
Kia has been studying the U.S. truck market for several years. In 2004 the South Korean auto manufacturer brought the KCV-4 Mojave concept pickup to the Chicago Auto Show. But Kia’s truck production plans have ebbed and waned during multiple management shakeups inside Kia Motors America (KMA). There have been four executive level changes in the past three years and seven since 1999.
Now sources say the pickup has finally gotten the buy-in it needs from Byung Mo Ahn, the new chairman and group CEO of KMA and Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG). Mr. Ahn replaced ousted Kia Motors CEO Len Hunt in February 2008. He previously ran KMA from 1999 to 2001.
As we heard in 2006, the new pickup is reportedly based on the next-generation, front-wheel-drive (FWD) Sorento and will use that sport utility vehicle’s unibody platform and V6 engine. The current Sorento is rear-wheel-drive (RWD) and body-on-frame.
By building a unibody pickup, Kia’s strategy will follow the lead set by Honda’s Ridgeline instead of traditional small trucks like the Chevrolet Colorado or Toyota Tacoma. We’re expecting Kia’s pickup will also offer all-wheel-drive (AWD) like the Ridgeline. The Ridgeline uses FWD during dry-pavement cruising, for improved fuel economy, but can send up to 70-percent of the torque to the rear wheels in slippery conditions.
The truck will be built at Kia’s soon-to-be-completed $1.2 billion assembly plant in West Point, Georgia, on the same line as the Sorento and a to-be-determined third vehicle. The new factory will have the capacity to produce 300,000 cars and trucks annually.
By building it in the United States, Kia will avoid the 25% federal import tax (aka ‘Chicken Tax’) levied on pickup trucks built overseas, though that tariff is being phased out between now and 2017 through a special free trade agreement between the U.S. and South Korea.
While it’s yet-to-be-named, Kia renewed its trademarks for the names Mojave and Mohave in August of 2007.
Kia’s decision to sell a mid-size truck is a risky one. The segment has been steadily shrinking, down 37% in the past five years as new buyers instead bought full-size trucks. Will American buyers want an unproven Korean truck, especially a unibody? Honda only sold 42,795 Ridgelines last year, down 15% from 2006.
And tertiary truck brands like Isuzu (which is leaving the American market) and Mitsubishi have only sold in the low thousands. But high fuel prices are rocking big truck sales, forcing some buyers to look for more fuel efficient pickups. A large shift in truck sales may give the Korean manufacturer the opening it needs with this truck. [Source: pickuptruck.com]
March 18th, 2008 at 12:24 am
well that would be a hot truck based on the concept drawing
March 18th, 2008 at 12:28 am
I hope that it takes a lot from the knd4 in overall styling.
March 18th, 2008 at 12:45 am
I don’t think that it is strategic to make a FWD truck. The Silverado or f-150 driver is not going to want that!
March 18th, 2008 at 1:17 am
no but for the “truck buyer” who doesn’t actually use a truck for hauling heavy payloads or towing exteme weight, it makes sense. Better handling and way better ride than a BOF truck. better MPG too
March 18th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Gooood idea, truck are so popular in america, and by making it fwd and awd it will alson bring compact suv buyer.
March 18th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Now, atlast I can answer my question that I had from a long time: Why is Kia launching vehicles in segments that are losing popularity? (eg. Borrego)
My answer:
-sales of other competitors go down and will eventually be discontinued
-Kia has low price tags
-they, now, have a very efficient V8 that gives the milage that is quiet close to smaller 4 cylinders
-all this results in better sales for Kia
coming back to topic… Why the heck a unibody for pickup?!!! a Borrego platform (BOF) would be much more suited for being a workhorse. FWD is fine for handling but I’m not happy about the unibody idea.
March 18th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
The article says that Kia is going head-head in competition with Honda and their Ridgeline with this FWD/AWD Kia Mojave pickup. Although our norm in understanding, especially in America, is with BOF RWD pickup trucks, Kia is on to a good lead with this new FWD/AWD unibody pickup. This is why they’re up there making the big bucks and we’re down here sipping coffee and making opinions. Opinions don’t a successful carmaker make, right decisions and lots of brainpower and also lots of elbow grease from line workers, to go along with some new world order robots, do. I am stoked that Kia is coming to the decision that they will now build the Mojave and that it will be in the West Point, GA, USA factory. Very cool.
March 18th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
It seems the new Sorento will be restyled like the new Sportage (RWD to FWD, BOF to Uni). The Borrego will replace the Sorento as the RWD/ BOF vehicle. But with rising fuel prices, and SUVs losing favor over “crossovers”, do we really need more trucks and SUVs? I really think KMA should take notice of the cee’d and bring it over here. Especially with the eco_cee’d able to achieve 60mpg on diesel!
March 18th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
SUV sales were going down mainly because of fuel prices and pickup engines usually have bad fuel efficiency. But they, now, have a very efficient V8 that gives the milage that is quiet close to smaller 4 cylinders so the sales should go well.
March 18th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
yeah, k-sport makes a good point.
March 19th, 2008 at 9:42 am
yeah sure kia wants a sporty im age but whats the point of suvs and trucks then? if ur gonna make an suv, make a real one, not one for fakers who wanna feel tough in their stupid crossovers. bof is dying out and lots of people want it so why take it away from them?? doesnt makes sense. not so sure about kias future especially with ahn leading it.
March 19th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Nissan have the largest SUV line-up here but are also known (mostly) for their sporty cars and powerful engines. Finally they launched a product that combined both of these concepts and Murano seemed to be the vehicle that gave out nissan’s entire character sketch. Kia could be the same like nissan.
July 27th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
It’s all about fuel effiency and having a vehicle to haul stuff. Right now you’d be hard pressed to find a truck, any truck, that gets you more than 30 MPG combined. That’s crap … give the consumer a truck that gets 30+ MPG combined and give it enough power to get around and haul normal stuff and the truck will sell. I’m not talking about filling it with concrete and haul it up a hill while navigating over boulders and stuff. We’re talking about hauling some sheet rock, maybe some bed springs, or add in some yard debris. Sure, the good old boys will continue to buy their huge F-150s, 250s, 350s, and 450s, but those Skoal chewers wouldn’t be caught dead in a Korean truck anyway, so to hell w/ them. Give us a truck that has the kind of gas mileage we would ordinarily only find in a car and that will bring the $$$.