Hyundai Wants Its New Truck To Be Built In America And Sold Worldwide

Ladder-Frame Hyundais are Coming

Hyundai has been selling ladder-frame vehicles for decades now, but never in North America. As such, it’s never built a model in the same way as, say, a Toyota Tacoma or Ford Ranger. Its last attempt at a pickup truck didn’t exactly go down well, with the Santa Cruz being easily outsold by the Ford Maverick.

Still, it’s not stopping the South Korean automaker from trying again. We already know that it’ll build a family of light trucks soon. We also know that Hyundai won’t make the same mistake twice, as these will be built off a ladder-frame chassis.

The Home Base

In a report by Automotive News, Hyundai CEO Jose Muñoz has mentioned a launch year for the first body-on-frame vehicle for North America. 2029 is the target, and it’ll be a midsize pickup. The model doesn’t have a name yet, but that does mean Hyundai will finally have a true alternative to the Toyota Tacoma. We’re not expecting it to topple the Toyota in terms of sales; a slice of that pie would be good for the brand.

But more crucially, Muñoz said he’s looking at the U.S to build the new pickup. “Definitely the United States could be not only the place to produce for domestic but also for export, as we see definitely other regions benefiting from these new segments. We’re working on the economics, the sourcing, on which markets could be part of that expansion,” said the executive.

Should that be the case, the most likely plant to build the model would be the Metaplant in Georgia. The Metaplant currently builds the Ioniq 5 for U.S. and Canadian markets (the Ioniq 5 N is sourced from South Korea), along with the Hyundai Ioniq 9 and the Kia Sportage Hybrid. Other models will eventually be built there, Kia and Genesis models alike.

For Export, Too

Given that Muñoz mentioned exports, it will be interesting to see which markets could potentially see the U.S-built pickup. There may be a chance that the Georgia Metaplant could handle exports for the Western side of the world, while South Korea does the East. The logistics are still being studied, of course.

“We’re working on the economics, the sourcing, on which markets could be part of that expansion,” said Muñoz. But with the deadline set for 2029, the decision has to be made sooner rather than later. We’re already past halfway through 2026, so there’s less than two and a half years to make it happen.

As for the pickup, it may eventually spawn SUV derivatives that could face off against the likes of the Toyota 4Runner and Nissan’s upcoming revived Xterra. CEO emphasized the need for platform sharing, so there may be a chance that these vehicles could be based on the quirky but slow-selling Tasman. That should help the entire Hyundai Motor Group recoup even more of its development costs, but only if the plan proves successful. If not, it has all the potential to be financially ruinous for the company.