Hyundai Says New Pickup Truck Will Help It Conquer America By 2030 – CarBuzz
Hyundai has revamped its reputation in America over the past decade. Part of that has been ramping up the quality; 15 Hyundai and Genesis vehicles have been North American Car/SUV of the Year finalists since 2019. For the second half of the 2020s, Hyundai plans to focus on volume.
Hyundai sold 834,000 vehicles in North America in 2024. The brand is targeting 1.44 million sales in North America by 2030, a number that would have had Hyundai beating Honda. That would represent 72% growth over the back half of the decade. A key vehicle that will help Hyundai get there is one of the new vehicles we are eagerly anticipating.
Hyundai isn’t tapping its GM partnership for its truck plans. And that will be way less boring.
Automotive News interviewed Hyundai CEO Jose Muñoz. He confirmed that Hyundai views its new Toyota Tacoma-rivaling midsize body-on-frame pickup as a massive opportunity for the brand.
“The midsize pickup opportunity is enormous — one of the largest and most profitable segments in the industry. Since launching Santa Cruz in 2021, we’ve proved Hyundai can compete in trucks,” Muñoz told Automotive News.
Muñoz also reiterated that Hyundai is considering an SUV variant of that pickup to take on the Toyota 4Runner.
“Our body-on-frame midsize pickup launching before 2030 competes directly in the heart of the American market, and we’re evaluating an SUV variant on the same platform,” Muñoz said.
Not a lot. We know that, unlike the Santa Cruz, the pickup will be a proper truck with a new, in-house-developed body-on-frame platform. Muñoz reaffirmed Hyundai’s intent to bring the truck to market before 2030. Unlike Kia, Hyundai has not confirmed a powertrain for its new truck yet. But the pickup could get Hyundai’s new EREV setup, set to arrive in 2027, which will offer more than 600 miles of total range.
An essential component of Hyundai’s plan to dramatically increase sales in North America will be expanding its American production capacity. Hyundai is planning to build 80% of its US-market vehicles in America by 2030, using 80% of the materials from local suppliers. The brand has a “phase 2” expansion underway at its Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) facility in Georgia, adding 200,000 more vehicles to bring total capacity to 500,000.
Hyundai is also planning to increase sales for its luxury arm, Genesis, by 2030. Genesis plans to sell 350,000 vehicles globally per year by the end of the decade, representing 55% growth. A pivotal part of the plan will be diversifying the brand’s powertrain lineup with more hybrid and electric vehicles, as well as vehicles using Hyundai’s new EREV technology.
Hyundai is preparing to take the fight to Ford and Toyota.
Genesis will also expand into new segments to compete with luxury rivals. The brand is launching a Magma performance sub-brand to compete with the likes of BMW’s M Division and Mercedes’s AMG. There will be Magma performance versions of cars such as the GV60, as well as a new Magma GT sports car to rival the Porsche 911.
Source: Automotive News
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