Hyundai Santa Cruz Pickup Takes Another Hiatus
Hyundai will not be making its Santa Cruz pickup truck, based on the Hyundai Tucson SUV, anytime soon.
According to MotorTrend.com, Hyundai's lifestyle — shown at the 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit — was supposed to be the Korean manufacturer's entrance into the lucrative and growing pickup market. Now it looks to be taking a pause as the company reassesses the viability of the concept.
During the debut of the Santa Cruz, Hyundai senior executives suggested it could show up on dealer lots for the 2018 model year; they also hinted they hoped for sales upward of 50,000 additional units to Hyundai's annual sales number. Now the entire project looks to be on hold indefinitely, even though Subaru is hinting about returning to the small-truck segment and Volkswagen has gotten more serious, showing off its Honda Ridgeline-like concept the Atlas Tanoak at the 2018 New York International Auto Show.
Whether any automaker can build a better Honda Ridgeline or figure out how to lure more and younger buyers out of their crossovers and mid-size sedans into pickups remains to be seen. We'll have to wait a few more years as manufacturers try to crack this code.
Cars.com photos by Evan Sears
