Hyundai Is Building a Real Pickup Truck
The Hyundai Santa Cruz pickup debuted in the US in 2021, and it's been a solid alternative to the Ford Maverick ever since. But it's not a
real
pickup truck—it's a
Tucson
with a bed. Now, though, Hyundai has confirmed production of a real, genuinely capable pickup. It just probably won't be for America.
Hyundai Australia CEO, Don Romano, confirmed to
Drive
that the company is working on a new mid-size ute—aka, a pickup truck. It will compete against body-on-frame alternatives in the region, like the Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger, and its cousin, the new Kia Tasman.
2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz
Photo by: Hyundai
"I'm confident a ute will be on the schedule," Romano said in the interview. "But I'm not certain on the time. The time will depend on the type of ute we develop. If we use a body-on-frame platform like the Tasman, that could be soon."
The details are still murky, by Romano's own admission, and it's unclear what would even power the pickup. He floats diesel, hybrid, and even fully electric options as possibilities. Given Australia's ever more stringent emissions regulations, sharing a platform with the Tasman seems unlikely. But, Hyundai could look to General Motors for help; the duo recently inked a deal for joint truck and van production.
"We would look at what is available from GM,' Romano told Drive. "My goal is to keep looking forward, and we have a strategic alliance with GM, but not just on utes. We want to have a number of options, and GM is part of that."
Hyundai hopes to have its new pickup in production in Australia within the next three years. As for the Santa Cruz, don't expect any major changes to the compact pickup for the US. The tiny truck just recently got a facelift.
69
More Truck Stuff
Is This Ram's Compact Truck for America?
America Is Falling Out of Love With Huge Trucks: Report
Get the best news, reviews, columns, and more delivered straight to your inbox, daily.
back
Sign up
For more information, read our
Privacy Policy
and
Terms of Use
.
Share this Story
Facebook
X
LinkedIn
Flipboard
Reddit
WhatsApp
E-Mail
Got a tip for us? Email:
tips@motor1.com
Join the conversation
(
)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Rio Tinto Eyes Bailout for Australian Aluminum Smelter, AFR Says
Rio Tinto Group is seeking a multibillion-dollar government bailout for its Tomago aluminum smelter — Australia's largest electricity user — due to spiraling energy costs, the Australian Financial Review reported. The talks center on the smelter's electricity contract for 2026 to 2029 and the federal government's production tax credits, the newspaper reported Saturday, citing unidentified sources familiar with the discussions. One person interviewed by the AFR said any bailout package will likely be 'more sophisticated' than a direct subsidy and that talks are mainly being conducted with the New South Wales state government.
Business Insider
2 hours ago
- Business Insider
Ford Stock (NYSE:F) Gains with Better Access to Rare Earths
One of the biggest supply chain problems for companies like legacy automaker Ford (F) is the access to rare earth minerals of the kind commonly used in electric vehicles. But a new report says that getting those rare earths out of one of their biggest sources, China, will actually be a little easier now. That news made investors breathe a little easier themselves, and shares were up nearly 2% in Friday afternoon's trading. Confident Investing Starts Here: China has brought out a set of temporary export licenses, reports note, which will offer up access to rare earths for each of the Big Three automakers, which include General Motors (GM) and Stellantis (STLA) as well. Reports note that at least some of the licenses are valid for the next six months, which should keep the lot of them in rare earths for some time to come. But it was hard not to notice that this change came just after a recent phone call between President Trump and President Xi Jinping, suggesting that that was part of some larger deal between the two. The move to restrict the supply of rare earth minerals has left many companies scrambling to fill in the supply gaps, and left many considering China a major bottleneck in the supply chain. With China producing about 90% of the world's supply, it is clear that they have the whip hand when it comes to these elements. We're All Getting Concerned About These Recalls You have likely noticed by now that the news around here, when it comes to Ford, seems to reference 'recall' a lot lately. Granted, some of these recalls have been minor to say the least; recalls that impact a handful of cars, or that are fixed with a software update. But not all of them have been so trivial, and some are starting to wonder if Ford's quality issues are starting to flare back up again. Daniel Ives, analyst with Wedbush Securities—who has a four-and-a-half star rating on TipRanks—recently noted that Ford was in a 'code-red situation…after a disaster quarter.' Rising warranty costs connected to all these recalls were hurting Ford, much as they did last year at this time. And with more recalls seeming to crop up, that could indeed prove a problem. However, bear in mind that the recalls are not all problems, especially when software is involved. So while Ford's recall count is on the rise, many of these recalls are much more simply addressed than they once were. Is Ford Stock a Good Buy Right Now? Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on F stock based on two Buys, 12 Holds and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 16.87% loss in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $9.71 per share implies 5.18% downside risk.
Business Insider
5 hours ago
- Business Insider
Top U.S. Automaker Rare Earth Suppliers Receive Export Licenses from China
Last week, President Trump accused China of violating its preliminary trade deal reached with the U.S. These violations included the continued restriction of rare earth element exports, which are critical in the development of semiconductors, cars, and planes. Now, China has responded in favor of the U.S. Confident Investing Starts Here: Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter China has provided temporary rare earth export licenses to suppliers of three top U.S. automaker brands, General Motors (GM), Ford (F), and Stellantis (STLA), per Reuters. This comes after Beijing imposed rare earth export restrictions in April as a response to Trump's tariffs, although the restrictions didn't apply just to the U.S. Automakers around the world had previously warned of supply chain disruptions if China continued to restrict the elements. China Eases Rare Earth Exports to Top U.S. Automakers The export licenses will be in effect for six months, with the timeline possibly set in order to respond to U.S.-China trade developments. Reuters ' sources didn't mention the quantity or exact rare earths covered through the export licenses. China holds a near-monopoly on rare earths and produces about 90% of them across the globe.
