Kia ute finally confirmed - but it's electric! Could an official EV pickup put an end to the diesel-powered Ford Ranger and rival Toyota HiLux?

Kia has confirmed two electric pickups and one of them could compete with the Rivian R1T.

Hyundai, Kia and Genesis have laid out their extended electrification plans, and there's some exciting news for ute fans.

Kia has announced that it will increase its EV production from 11 EVs by 14 by 2027, including a pair of new all-electric pickups.

One of these will be a "strategic model for emerging markets" - most likely a Fiat Toro-style compact car that will compete in South America, Southeast Asia and elsewhere.

But Kia has described the other model as a dedicated electric pickup, which means it will likely be a full-size model that will compete with the Ford F150 Lightning, Chevrolet Silverado EV, Rivian R1T, Tesla Cybertruck and the upcoming RAM EV.

While this is indeed exciting news, it leaves a question mark over the one-tonne diesel rival Toyota HiLux that Kia Australia was desperately hoping to build by its parent company.

It was a case of "will they" or "won't they" build a traditional duck for a while. Damien Meredith, COO of Kia Motors Australia Cars Guide in January, it's hard to balance the brand's focus on electric vehicles and promoting a relatively old model like a diesel pickup.

This expansion of Kia's electrification could very well be the final nail in the diesel Kia ute's coffin.

Hyundai also confirmed that it will increase its EV production to 17 models by 2030, including 11 Hyundai-branded models and six for the Genesis luxury division.

Kia's next electric car will be the EV9 large SUV.

Curiously, Hyundai has said that one of the Hyundai-branded electric vehicles will be a "light commercial vehicle," suggesting it could be a twin of Kia's electric pickup truck.

Hyundai has also explored the viability of a diesel Ford Ranger, but without much success.

It's also possible that Hyundai's commercial model could be an electric delivery van to compete with similar offerings from Peugeot, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Volkswagen and others.

Hyundai also mentioned that one of the newly added electric vehicles is a "new type model," which could point to a future Hyundai-badged electric sports car.

Hyundai's other models are three sedans and six SUVs, with the next cab rank being the fast-paced Ioniq 6 sedan, followed by the large Ioniq 7 SUV.

Ioniq 6 will be based on the Prophecy concept.

Kia has confirmed the launch date for its 2023 EV9 large SUV, which was unveiled as a concept last November. According to Kia, the five-meter SUV accelerates to 0 km / h in five seconds, and the range on a full charge is 100 km. It will also unlock Kia's next-generation autonomous driving technology dubbed AutoMode.

Another recently announced model from Kia will be an "entry level" EV model.

Kia, which has ambitious plans to become the world's leading electric vehicle manufacturer, also announced that it has increased its electric vehicle sales target by 2030% by 36 from its initial announcement last year. It is now expected that 1.2 million electric vehicles will have been sold by then.

The Genesis EV lineup will include two passenger cars, four SUVs, including the upcoming GV60 and GV70 Electrified models. All new Genesis models released after 2025 will be electrified.

Hyundai will develop a new Integrated Modular Architecture (IMA), which is an evolution of the Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) that underpins the Ioniq 5, Genesis GV60 and Kia EV6.