The new Hyundai Santa Cruz pickup truck has been confirmed for 2018.
By Anna Kim
Staff Writer
Hyundai is poised to add the Santa Cruz pickup truck to its lineup in 2018 as a 2019 model.
According to Hyundai, they are working on the lifestyle pickup, which would share a platform with the Tucson compact crossover, and the final truck could have either a gasoline or diesel engine.
The Hyundai Santa Cruz pickup concept is currently being manifested.
“It’s just a matter of finalizing a couple of little things. We have a pretty good idea of how we will market it,” said Hyundai Motor America. “The Santa Cruz is intended to attract CUV [SUV] and sedan buyers who are seeking greater utility, without the compromises that traditional trucks often require.”
The idea of a car-based pickup has been tried by others with varying degrees of success. Hereupon, internal studies suggest that Hyundai could sell about 50,000 Santa Cruz pickups a year, and external studies put the figure as high as 70,000. Auto customers see the potential for a lifestyle pickup if it is executed and priced properly, saying it “makes sense for us.”
The Hyundai Santa Cruz is expected to crank up the automaker’s credit a notch.
“When driving a 2016 Hyundai Sonata, it felt just as robust and expensive as a 3-Series or a C-Class, and I didn’t feel it lacked in technology or luxury,” said Stephan Petrove at TechMalak. “I even liked the dynamics of it, so even though I would have laughed at the prospect of a Hyundai pickup five years ago, the news is really welcoming for me now.”
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The new Hyundai Santa Cruz pickup truck has been unveiled. <photo=Michael Simari>
Hyundai is poised to add the Santa Cruz pickup truck to its lineup in 2018 as a 2019 model.
The new Hyundai Santa Cruz pickup truck back. <photo=Michael Simari>
