The Hyundai Santa Cruz Pickup is Absolutely Going to Happen, CEO Confirms

by Steph Willems

August 20th, 2016 10:34 AM

the hyundai santa cruz pickup is absolutely going to happen ceo confirms

If you collected all of the ink spilled over the Hyundai Santa Cruz pickup’s chances of entering production, it would overflow the unibody model’s abbreviated bed.

Well, Hyundai just put a year and a half’s worth of rumors to rest, confirming to Motor Trend that the car-based pickup is definitely a go, and will appear in 2018 as a 2019 model.

“We have made the decision,” said Dave Zuchowski, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America. “We have not made the announcement.”

That announcement will come at either the Los Angeles or Detroit auto show.

The youthful Santa Cruz concept first appeared at the North American International Auto Show in 2015, generating plenty of buzz — even from those with no personal memories of the long-departed Chevrolet El Camino. Blending a crossover and a pickup, the concept seemed destined to fill an untapped niche market.

Even this past week, speculation was rampant about the model’s looming approval.

According to Motor Trend, the Tucson-based pickup underwent a design review earlier this month. The automaker is close to finalizing a design, and anticipates that it can sell 50,000 units a year. Outsider estimates put the figure at 70,000.

Hyundai engineers are busy developing a diesel engine for European Genesis models, and that mill could find its way into the production Santa Cruz, giving the pickup respectable grunt.

In the interview, Zuchowski laments his company’s car-heavy market share, calling its model lineup an “adverse mix” of vehicles. Adding the Santa Cruz would diversify the company’s offerings, potentially luring new buyers to the brand with a unique product.

The timing seems right for the Santa Cruz, given recent sales growth in the midsize pickup market.

[Images: Hyundai]

#2019HyundaiSantaCruz #FutureVehicles #Hyundai #HyundaiSantaCruz #Pickups #ProductPlanning

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8 of 158 comments

Zipper69 on Aug 22, 2016

Is the long mooted Jeep pickup actually gonna happen? If so, would this Hyundai chase the same buyers?

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Daniel J on Aug 22, 2016

I would be all over this. We have a CX-5 which will haul some stuff, but on occasion we need more vertical cargo space. Small loads of dirt and mulch would be great too. We purchased a tree at a nursery and couldn't get it into the CX-5 and had to borrow a friends truck. Not if we had this.

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- Quentin on Aug 22, 2016
  
  Hitch + platform would take care of your tree carrying needs. I've always been a fan of utility trailers for material carrying. They have superior loading and unloading ergonomics, a bigger footprint that is not impeded by wheel wells. Finally, you can unload the entire load from your vehicle in the matter of minutes should you need to run out to get something else. The only negative is maneuverability and having to store the trailer somewhere. Even then, it is so cheap to just rent a trailer as needed, that I've just rented.
  
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- Vulpine on Aug 22, 2016
  
  @Quentin ... and looks so sick when you see one of those tiny trailers behind a Great Big Pickup Truck.
  
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- Quentin on Aug 23, 2016
  
  @Vulpine I've never owned (and am unlikely to ever own) a full size truck. I'm also obviously making the suggestion for his CX5. You seem to have me confused with someone else.
  
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- Daniel J on Aug 23, 2016
  
  @Quentin I have no interest in maintaining or owning a trailer. I don't have anywhere to store it, either. Renting one is an option, but typical impulse buys at the home improvement store prevents that. We've had the CX5 for almost two years, and there hasn't been a situation where I've needed the cargo area to be "covered". But I have ran into more situations where having an open cargo space would have been beneficial.
  
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- Vulpine on Aug 23, 2016
  
  @Quentin Nope. I'm pointing out how ridiculous those baby trailers look being towed behind something obviously big enough to carry whatever the trailer is carrying. I would also point out that HOAs have a habit of making it impossible to own anything that makes maintaining your home easier... like a full-sized pickup truck, trailers and other things, especially when their rules say they can not be parked/stored anywhere where they can be visible by even your neighbors, meaning you can't place a utility trailer in your back yard or under your deck and IF you have a garage, any vehicle and trailer has to be able to fit with the doors closed. In other words, your suggestion for the trailer, while valid for most CUV owners, isn't always feasible even for them while I have personally seen pickup trucks and CUVs towing trailers they could have as easily carried along with the load on that trailer. And, as you pointed out, there's maneuverability issues. trying to back up with such a trailer comes only a hair short of impossible for anyone inexperienced with towing. I've seen too many people damage and even destroy trailers because they don't know how to maneuver them backwards.
  
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- Quentin on Aug 23, 2016
  
  @Quentin I'm not even certain what you are going on about now. The guy had a problem, I offered up a suggestion. It didn't need your litany of "what if" nonsense that you always bring to the table when trying to convince everyone (and yourself) that some modern VW sportruck would be a huge commercial success because, at the core, that's what you meant when you responded. For Daniel, I'd argue that any time you've had something in the back of the CX5 that needed to be locked inside, you've benefited from a covered cargo area. If you want a secure cargo area in a truck, you are looking at a rigid bed cover that, just like a trailer, presents its own problems. No vehicle is perfect for every situation.
  
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