As you know, Hyundai had green-lighted its pick-up truck for the US-market, and now according to our industry sources, the launch of the pick-up, codenamed as NX4-OB, will finally happen on May 2020.
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Based on the next-gen Tucson platform (codenamed as NX4) the pick-up with unkown name will be available with the new Theta III 2.5-liter GDi engine as standard with an hybrid variant to come later.
The pick-up probably will be US exclusive as it is going to be built at Hyundai’s Alabama facility.
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What we know so far?
Hyundai Motor America Product Planning Vicepresident, Michael O’Brien, said the carmaker expects to enter the U.S. pickup market soon with a North American-made model.
“It’ll be a very versatile vehicle. That has the promise of creating a whole new class of buyers,” O’Brien said. While he wouldn’t reveal information about the pickup’s release date and its specifications, the executive did offer some strong clues that it will be produced in the United States.
Also Hyundai Motor and its affiliates are in the process of updating the lines and supply lines of the Alabama plant, as the company has decided to produce Hyundai’s next generation Tucson (codenamed NX4) earlier 2020, while pick-up derivative launch for late 2020.
More than the 60 percent of the US auto market sales have chose a SUV, so that it’s why they will be producing the Tucson at its Alabama plant instead of the anticipated sales of Elantra and Sonata are decreasing. Currently, the Alabama plant produces only three models – the Santa Fe, the Sonata, and the Elantra.
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Hyundai has mentioned the possibility of a medium-size pickup truck several times. They finally decided to build a pick-up truck based on the next-generation Tucson (NX4) platform, that will be available for the next-gen Tucson & Sportage with a longer wheelbase and will able to have a pick-up from the beginning.
The pick up is set to be named as Santa Cruz due to give it a higher image (directly from the Santa Fe). In terms of size, this new pick up will compete against Chevrolet Colorado or Toyota Tacoma.
The next generation Tucson is set to have the all-new Theta3 2.5-liter engine with an 8-speed automatic transmission. Hyundai plans to use the Theta3 N/A & Turbo 2.5-lite engine as its base engine in the US market.
Hyundai’s first pickup truck is planned to be produced in the United States in May 2021, and its introduction into other markets like South Korea has not yet been decided.
