All Entries Tagged With: "hyundai truck"

Hyundai Santa Cruz Pickup Truck by 2017?

Rumors of a Hyundai pickup truck have been flying around for a few years now, with the most substantial being a rumored tie-up with Chrysler-Fiat. While that particular rumor has died, a new (and well sourced) rumor has Hyundai importing a mid-size pickup truck in 2017.

The truck would be based on the long wheel base version of the Santa Fe, would be built in Korea (Ulsan), and would challenge the Tacoma, the soon-to-debut Chevy Colorado, and the Nissan Frontier for a slice of the North American pickup truck market. This truck would also be sold outside North America to compete with the Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux.

This rendering of the rumored Hyundai pickup based on the Santa Fe – which we’re calling the Santa Cruz – looks feasible, doesn’t it? Click for a larger view.

What follows is an analysis of this rumored truck, with informed estimates about this truck’s name, configuration, and specs. As always, we’ve taken the time to consult with various sources in the industry when preparing this estimate. This isn’t to say that what we’re presenting here is factual, but we feel it’s a good first guess at Hyundai’s future truck plans…and there are a lot of reasons to expect this pickup in 2017 or 2018.

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Chrysler’s Future Still Uncertain – Would You Buy A Hyundai-Made Ram?

Despite receiving a massive bailout from U.S. and Canadian taxpayers, the long-term future of Chrysler-Fiat is still up in the air. According to Steve Rattner, the former Obama administration “car czar” who orchestrated the Chrysler bailout package, there were serious misgivings about Chrysler’s future by many in the Obama administration in 2009. Rattner’s book Overhaul indicates that Chrysler was bailed-out more to prevent job losses than based on any certainty that Chrysler could remain a viable automaker.

As reported recently by the Detroit News, financial analysts at international mega-lender Deutsche Bank echo these same concerns. While Chrysler has generated operating profits in the past year, they’re still a money-losing company (nearly half a billion year to date). Deutsche Bank’s analysts believe that Chrysler’s future hinges on new Fiat-based product due out next year – starting with the Fiat 500.

Deutsche Bank's analysts believe the future of Chrysler hinges on new products from Fiat, including the Fiat 500

While a new line of Fiats might just save Chrysler, it’s also possible that they won’t. If Chrysler-Fiat has to throw in the towel, the Ram brand would be made available for sale…something Hyundai might love to see.

Chrysler Hyundai Truck Partnership – Pros and Cons

Earlier today, we evaluated Hyundai’s desire to become a full-line automaker. While that analysis showed that Hyundai can’t expect their success as a car company to carry over to selling trucks, it doesn’t evaluate the idea of Hyundai selling re-badged Rams.

A concept of a Hyundai Ram 1500

Here are the pros and cons of a Chrysler-Hyundai truck partnership (HINT: It’s not going to happen).

Hyundai’s Interest in Selling Full-Size Trucks

PickupTrucks.com, the best truck site on the Internet, uncovered evidence that Hyundai is quietly investigating entering the North American full-size truck market earlier this week. According to Reuters in Korea, Hyundai approached Chrysler earlier this year about partnering to build a Hyundai version of the Ram 1500. Evidently, Hyundai is interested in becoming a “full-line” automaker.

This is what a Hyundai version of the Dodge Ram could look like.

The question is, why would Hyundai consider such a thing?