Australia is Trying to Give the World a Hyundai Pickup, and is Succeeding
As U.S. customers await the unannounced Santa Cruz-like sort-of ute they’ve been promised for some time, Australia is getting traction from Hyundai on a genuine midsize pickup.
Following much lobbying from down under, Hyundai Australia’s chief operating officer Scott Grant told Car Advice that company brass in South Korea are slowly coming into agreement on the need for a bona fide pickup, but fans will have to be patient.
“It’s been advanced as we understand it,” Grant told the publication. “We’ve got a planning horizon in place where they’re looking at the vehicle quite seriously, but there is yet to be a commitment to produce.”
Because of the automaker’s global plans, any Hyundai-badged pickup given the green light won’t appear before 2020.
Grant wasn’t talking about the Santa Cruz concept, which bowed in early 2015 and was focused mainly on the U.S. market. That vehicle — a youth-oriented four-seat unibody runabout with an abbreviated cargo bed — has been rumored for production since last year, though Hyundai hasn’t said when it will appear, or what form it will take.
No, the executive meant a real pickup that intends to play with the big midsize boys.
Australia already has a slew of midsize pickups to choose from, including the Ford Ranger, so sales success in that marketplace wouldn’t be surprising. The country remains a small market, so convincing an automaker to build a new product solely for the buyers of one (non-China) nation is a tall order. However, midsize pickup sales are healthy in North America, too — even Honda’s oddball Ridgeline is finding a surprising number of buyers.
Grant said corporate opinion began to shift recently, with the thinking now being “there’s a similar requirement in other markets, so we’re working towards something.”
More by Steph Willems
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One issue (if this is to come to fruition) is where Hyundai would build it. Even if the "chicken-tax" weren't going away, Hyundai has no extra capacity in NA and capacity in Korea is tight - esp. as Hyundai has a slew of additional models coming out (starting with the Ioniq, a couple of new crossovers, purportedly the Santa Cruz and all the new Genesis models).
This has been an ongoing saga for around a year or so. I do believe Hyundai will end up making a good mid size pickup. It will need to be made in Thailand to be competitive in pricing as a Korean made pickup will cost too much and would most likely price it with the Amarok, Ranger, BT50 and HiLux. Hyundai does have a few engines at it's disposal already for the pickup. The R22 German designed diesel (car orientated diesel) with around 140Kw and 440Nm, The nice V6 that's available in the US in the Sorento/Santa Fe and a 2 litre gas four for an entry level work ute. Or a Korean version of a turbo EcoThirst. Another engine a diesel is a 2.9 litre inline 4 that's used in the Kia 2900 forward control midsize truck with a lust for payload 1800kg (3 960lbs HD territory). A good little truck engine, but I do not know if it will meet our Euro VI emissions standards. I'd say Australia's input into it's design will be a necessity as Australia is now a leading pickup truck designer and developer for global pickups and SUVs. This is good as it displays the capacity in country to design and develop a flexible vehicle to suit all markets and not just a singular market, which would be easier.