Market trends convince Hyundai to launch pickup in U.S.

Aug. 23, 2017

With sales of U.S. passenger sedans in a slump and SUVs, crossovers and pickups continuing to show gains, Korean automaker Hyundai reportedly will bring its own light pickup entry stateside.

Aaron Marsh

With sales of U.S. passenger sedans in a slump and SUVs, crossovers and pickups continuing to show gains, Korean automaker Hyundai apparently will bring its own light pickup entry stateside.

According to a Reuters report this week, Hyundai plans to develop a pickup truck for this market that will be "similar" to the company's 2015 Santa Cruz concept truck.

If so, it'd be a logical choice for the automaker, given the popularity that swirled around the Santa Cruz at the time. Unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in January 2015, the truck nabbed the Concept Truck of the Year award at the Concours d'Elegance of America later that year and generated a good amount of consumer fanfare.

Here's a look back at the Santa Cruz concept and some hardware and equipment details Hyundai provided. There's no word yet on when Hyundai's production truck would arrive, but given the state of the market and the OEM's flagging sedan sales, sooner rather than later could be the order of the day.

And that could also mean the production Hyundai pickup will carry over more elements of the concept Santa Cruz. Time will tell...

About the Author

Aaron Marsh

Before computerization had fully taken hold and automotive work took someone who speaks engine, Aaron grew up in Upstate New York taking cars apart and fixing and rewiring them, keeping more than a few great jalopies (classics) on the road that probably didn't deserve to be. He spent a decade inside the Beltway covering Congress and the intricacies of the health care system before a stint in local New England news, picking up awards for both pen and camera.

He wrote about you-name-it, from transportation and law and the courts to events of all kinds and telecommunications, and landed in trucking when he joined FleetOwner in July 2015. Long an editorial leader, he was a keeper of knowledge at FleetOwner ready to dive in on the technical and the topical inside and all-around trucking—and still turned a wrench or two. Or three.

Aaron previously wrote for FleetOwner.