A Hyundai pickup is on its way, according to the latest reports.
In 2015, Hyundai revealed the Santa Cruz pickup concept at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show. It was slick and stylish in that typical concept car way, but still undeniably a pickup truck with its bed, skid plates, and front tow hooks.
Since then, we haven’t really heard much about the Santa Cruz. A Reuters report from August of 2017 confirmed that the Santa Cruz had been given the green light for production, but we still hadn’t seen a test mule in spy photos anywhere.
We thought that the Santa Cruz was a myth, but a new report from Autocar says that the Santa Cruz is very real, and that it’s coming “as soon as possible.”
Speaking to the British car magazine, Hyundai Chief Design Officer Luc Donckerwolke (who used to work for such companies as Lamborghini, Bentley, and Audi) said that everything on the conceptual side is finished and we’re now just waiting for a production version to emerge.
"From my side [design] it is finished, the process to put it into production is now underway,” said Donckerwolke.
RELATED: HYUNDAI LOOKING TO TAKE DOWN TOYOTA'S LAND CRUISER WITH MASSIVE SUV
It’s expected to arrive sometime in 2020, but the specifics remain elusive. We know nothing about powertrains or even how large the final product will be. If it’s a mid-size pickup, it’ll have a much greater worldwide appeal. If it’s a full-size pickup, it’ll be more geared for the North American market that loves its big trucks.
The concept version was a 2-door compact truck that’s closer to a mid-size. Autoblog reports that the Santa Cruz is most likely to be based on the upcoming Hyundai Tucson redesign, which would also put it closer to mid-size territory. That market segment is about to become crowded with the Ford Ranger, Toyota Tacoma, Honda Ridgeline, and Chevy Colorado all fighting for a piece of the mid-size pie.
Kia will also be getting their own version of the Santa Cruz, but it’s not likely to arrive until after the Hyundai version hits dealers.