Hyundai and Genesis are planning to launch a total of 17 EVs between both companies by the end of the decade, so it should be little surprise that Kia is also increasing its efforts – they are all related, after all. There’s an oddity to this announcement, though, as Kia is also planning to launch not one, but two zero-emission electric pickup trucks.

Kia Electric Pickup Truck – It’s Happening Twice Over

Kia’s electric pickup trucks are going to be cut from two completely different cloths. One is said to be a “dedicated” model, which means it’ll ride on its own bespoke electric platform while the other is a “strategic” model that will be tailored specifically to emerging markets and – most likely – based on an existing ICE structure. Kia’s bespoke electric truck will be built in the United States with production scheduled to start in 2024 at the same time a midsize SUV will also go into production. A year after that, small and midsized EVs will be produced in Europe and India. All of these will fill a range of midsized EVs that will be entering production in China in 2023.

Beyond this, the Kia EV9 concept that was revealed near the end of 2021 at the L.A. Auto Show is said to go into production sometime in 2023 as a halo model of sorts. According to Kia, the production model will measure some five meters long (about 197 inches) and will be able to hit 62.1 mph (100 km/h) in around five seconds. With the battery fully charged, it should be good for around 540 km or 336 miles, but given the primary means of figure measurement, these are probably based on the more lenient WLTP cycle and real-world useability will probably be a bit lower.

The concept supposedly had about 300 miles of range and could suck in enough juice for 62 miles with six seconds of fast charging. These are the same figures you can probably expect from the aforementioned “bespoke” electric pickup. Like the EV9, the electric pickups will be capable of supporting over-the-air updates as well as feature on demand. As for what these pickups will look like remains to be seen, but one can imagine the Hyundai Santa Cruz will be a good basis for prediction early on.