Hyundai learning from Kia Tasman as its Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux rival edges closer

Hyundai Australia will launch its first dual-cab ute to challenge the market-leading Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux in 2028 at the earliest, and it says there are lessons to be learned from the slow-selling Kia Tasman.

Speaking at the launch of the updated Hyundai Staria people mover and Staria Load commercial van, Hyundai Australia chief operating officer Gavin Donaldson said the South Korean automaker is taking a cautious approach.

Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) brand Kia introduced its first dual-cab ute, the Tasman, in mid-2025 and since then it has failed to meet the company's sales expectations.

"[If] you're a football coach, you [don't] want to talk about your opposition," Mr Donaldson said.

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"I look at [Tasman] and go, regardless of the outcome, they have a product that's in a market that generates... it's 20 per cent of the market.

"So regardless of their overall performance, I still look at it and go, they are getting incremental sales by having it in the market, that is fantastic. The marketing launch, I think they did well with branding and all that.

"Why they're probably not getting to the levels they want, they will have a better answer from that perspective.

"But I look at it and go, they're participating in a market that we're not, and I wish we were."

Hyundai is one of only two top-10 brands in Australia not to offer a ute, with the other – Chery – set to launch its Stockman diesel plug-in hybrid (PHEV) dual-cab later this year.

For the third consecutive year, the Ranger was Australia's best-selling vehicle in 2025 and continues to lead the market this year to the end of May.

The Hyundai Boulder Concept, revealed at the 2026 New York Motor Show in April, is a rugged off-road SUV based on a ladder-frame chassis which the company has said will form the basis of a future ute.

It's considered a stronger prospect for Australia than the dual-cab Santa Cruz 'lifestyle' ute, which is currently Hyundai's only ute and is sold only in North America. It was first revealed almost a decade ago and has previously been ruled out for Australia because of its car-based monocoque underpinnings, which are shared with models including the Hyundai Tucson mid-size SUV.

"There's a strong Australasian, you know, through the Asian corridor market that we need to look at, and there's all different types of utes that suit those segments," Mr Donaldson said.

"We've got two or three that we're still working through.

"We've got a great new director of product [Rodolfo Stopa] who is working really closely with the teams overseas, so depending on timing, what type of powertrain – we're looking at EREVs [extended-range electric vehicles]. Will that be the case? Will there be an EV option?"

While the Tasman is diesel-only at this stage, an all-electric version of Kia's first ute has long been in the plan, but Mr Donaldson said Hyundai is being cautious with the powertrain strategy for its inaugural ute.

"If you're bringing out one tomorrow, you probably have to have something diesel, but we're not launching anything in the next six months or so. For us, we're just trying to look at what is exactly the right model that we want to launch.

"If you take a learning from the Tasman, you know, for us it would be what is the right ute you would need, what is the correct powertrain you need at that time, and what is the longevity of that powertrain [in the market]?

"That's probably why we're taking that little bit longer, but we want to make sure that when we get it, it's exactly what the Australian market needs and what they've been waiting for."

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