Hyundai’s ute plans are coming into focus, and the brand looks set to launch more than one.
It currently has just the North American, Tucson-based (and therefore car-like unibody) Santa Cruz dual-cab, leaving it without a rival to larger, more traditional body-on-frame utes like the top-selling Ford Ranger.
At the company’s 2025 Investor Day, Hyundai Motor Company CEO José Muñoz confirmed the brand will launch a mid-size, body-on-frame pickup truck in North America by 2030, with the potential for an SUV spinoff.
However, this pickup/ute appears to be separate from another, similarly sized model being developed for Central and South America as part of a strategic alliance with General Motors.
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Hyundai hasn’t specified what powertrains either model will use. Any ute developed in North America is unlikely to offer diesel power, in contrast with Latin America where diesel-powered utes are much more common.
Weak demand for electric pickup trucks in the US could also see Hyundai prioritise hybrid or plug-in hybrid power there. The brand is rolling out a new 2.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder hybrid powertrain, starting in the Palisade large SUV.
GM is leading development of the Latin American pickup, with Hyundai leading development of a smaller ute (likely a unibody rival for the likes of the Fiat Strada) and a small SUV and passenger car for these markets. The first of these products will launch as early as 2028.
In the presentation, Hyundai listed only one vehicle for North America coming from this partnership: an electric commercial van, which it’s leading development of despite GM already offering such vehicles under the Chevrolet BrightDrop nameplate.
But Hyundai will offer utes in markets other than the Americas, as it sees potential for growth in the light commercial vehicle market globally.
“We have ambitions to strengthen our presence in pickup trucks and light commercial vehicles. This is not only true for the US, but as you can see pickups and LCVs are opportunities we are excited about globally,” said Mr Muñoz.
“We are now deploying a new strategy with a new structure of the group and focusing on markets which are very similar to the European or American markets, like Australia where we have opportunity to be number one for the group in the market,” said Mr Muñoz.
“How? Well, one simple one is the introduction of pickups that we don’t have in most markets. If you compare ourselves to other big OEMs, one of the biggest differences comes from the lack of a pickup presence. So the pickup is going to have an impact on North America, in Central and South America, in Southeast Asia mainly.”
It’s unclear which ute would be offered in Australia – the GM co-developed vehicle for Latin America, or the North American model with which Hyundai appears to be going it alone.
Hyundai Australia has kept its powder dry. In May it said it would lock down plans for a new Ranger-sized ute by the end of this year, but in August local boss Don Romano was more circumspect about future ute plans, citing uncertainty over trade barriers.
“Right now we see a decline in the total ute sales, and that could delay development,” said Mr Romano, who previously said a diesel ute based on the new Kia Tasman was less preferable than an all-new model with hybrid (HEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV) or battery-electric (EV) power.
“I don’t think the world needs another diesel ute… so we want to look at different options. And if that takes an extra year, that’s worth the time.
“I can’t tell you whether that’s a PHEV, an HEV or a BEV, but I think those are options that have to be considered.”
Despite the latest round of setbacks, Mr Romano says ‘there’s wiggle room’ in the timeline for Hyundai’s new ute to arrive in Australia by 2029, as originally planned.
Further clouding Hyundai’s ute plans are previous reports the brand would introduce dedicated electric utes, which could wear the Ioniq T7 and Ioniq T10 nameplates already trademarked locally.
In its pursuit of new, high-margin segments, Hyundai has also confirmed it plans to introduce a full-size SUV in the US.
“In the US we have opportunity to grow. We are today not competing in the large SUV segment, we are not competing in the pickup segment. Those are mechanical opportunities that are going to give us a big opportunity,” said Mr Muñoz.
While the Santa Fe, Palisade and Ioniq 9 are classified as large SUVs in Australia, they’re considered mid-size SUVs in the US where there’s a segment of even larger vehicles including the Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Ford Expedition.
Mr Munoz says each major region for the Hyundai brand will take a different path, with a focus on hybrids, mass-market electric vehicles (EVs), and “larger SUVs and trucks” in the Asia-Pacific market.
It’s unclear whether that means a full-size SUV could also make its way to Australia.