“We do not have a pickup truck. Other than that, we cover almost every segment. We are studying that one very hard—what kind of pickup truck we should produce, if we have to. Is it a big-size pickup truck like in the United States or a small kind of pickup truck?” Lee added, “We are doing a good job in recent years without a pickup truck. A pickup truck is important, but it’s not a big priority for our company. But we have to consider how to respond. It is under study.”
Jim Trainor of Hyundai U.S.A. responded to the possibility of a pickup by echoing Lee’s comments, saying, “We have no immediate plans for a pickup truck for the U.S., but never say never.”
With that low-rent reputation firmly in its rearview mirror, Hyundai has successfully joined the SUV and crossover contingent, but butting heads with the pickup offerings of Ford, GM, and Ram is quite another challenge. Just ask Nissan, or any of the Japanese manufacturers, for that matter.
- First Drive: 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe LWB
- Instrumented Test: 2013 Ram 1500 SLT V6 8-Speed Automatic
- Long-Term Road Test Wrap-Up: 2011 Hyundai Sonata SE 2.0T
If Hyundai were to come to market with a full-size offering, the most likely production site would be the company’s $1.7-billion facility in Montgomery, Alabama. As the brand also is considering a mid-size pickup that would be aimed at a global audience, it’s possible that it could be produced in South Korea and imported into the U.S. without being subject to the Chicken Tax—thanks to a U.S./South Korean free-trade agreement—as soon as 2021.
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