An executive with Hyundai Motor America has stated in an interview that the division will gain a pick-up truck. This ends speculation which has been rife ever since the company developed the Santa Cruz, a concept which debuted at the 2015 Detroit auto show.
Reuters states that Michael J. O’Brien, vice president of Corporate and Product Planning for HMA, says that Hyundai Motor Company has approved plans to develop a pick-up. However, there is no statement on what size the vehicle would be.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The Santa Cruz looked far more streamlined that any existing model sold by the major players in the North American market for pick-ups. In common with the Honda Ridgeline, the Santa Cruz concept was said to have a monocoque platform. All other pick-ups in the region have ladder frame chassis and are RWD and/or 4WD whereas the Honda uses a FWD/AWD architecture.
Originally expected to be released in 2018, the Santa Cruz is now said to be due to enter production in 2020.
Some sources believe that Kia will have its own version of the Santa Cruz from 2021 or 2022 but this is yet to be confirmed.
Given how successful body-on-frame pick-ups are in Australia, the local importer’s COO Scott Grant told the media in May 2017 that he wants to see such a construction for the future model. It remains unclear whether or not a 5m long Hyundai model would have a frame or, like the Ridgeline, a unibody architecture. It may well be that HMG eventually launches one of each, as FCA does by selling both the Fullback and Toro.
The Santa Cruz will likely be manufactured in the USA. There is a chance that it or another Hyundai pick-up could also be built at a yet to be announced plant in Thailand.
