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Planning a pickup truck has been on Kia’s drawing board since the 2006, when it showed its Mojave Concept at the 2006 Chicago Auto Show. It now appears Kia is close to making the final decision on a pickup truck for sale in the U.S. The vehicle was one of the main subjects at Kia’s dealer meeting in February.

A source familiar with the Korean company’s plans says that the pickup has been approved for production at Kia’s plant in Georgia. The source said that the truck will be based on the new redesigned 2010 Sorento SUV.

Kia plans on using a front-wheel-drive unibody platform along with a V6 engine. The source said that new CEO Ahn Byung-Mo “is really pushing the truck.”

“He danced around it, but he left the door open that there is a distinct possibility we could get it,” said Hogan, a dealer in South Carolina.

“From a product perspective, the number-one choice of the dealers is a pickup,” Hogan said.

 

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

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