One suspects the light commercial market is going to really heat up in 2025 with
both Hyundai and Kia entering the ute market for the first time, an area currently
dominated by our two top selling vehicles, the Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux.
Hyundai has already indicated its ute will not be diesel, possible electric, giving
the South Korean brand a zero-emissions option to counter potential penalties
under the Federal Governments New Vehicle Efficiency Standards due to come
into effect next year. Meanwhile, sister company Kia will introduce its dual cab
ute called the Tasman early next year, all but confirmed with a 2.2-litre turbo
diesel four-cylinder engine, already powering the current Kia Sorrento – other
engines could follow but dependent on Kia being able to sell enough electric
cars to offset the engines impacts on the new emission standards. I’m David
Berthon