Daily Auto News Report: Hyundai May Build Full-Size Pickup
Daily Auto News
Once known only for tiny, cheap economy cars, Hyundai has grown in recent years to build everything from midsize SUVs to luxury cars – but a pickup? That’s the rumor.
PickupTrucks.com reports, “The Korean automaker, which has made major inroads recently into the American car and crossover markets with critically acclaimed new products, recently held research clinics with truck buyers in California and Texas using a [Dodge] Ram 1500 customized with a Hyundai-style grille and interior tweaks.” Prospective customers reportedly showed enough interest “to keep the project moving forward.” Automakers considering moving into a new type of product will often modify a competitor’s version first, to test ideas.
A spokesman Hyundai’s American arm told PickupTrucks.com “pickup trucks are not a high priority for us.” But that doesn’t explain the focus groups.
Autoblog sees too much risk in the project to make it worthwhile. “Nissan never made a significant dent in the big truck segment with the six-year-old Titan,” they note. Meanwhile, “The enormous resources that Toyota has poured into the development and production of the Tundra are considered by some analysts to be one of the causes of the automaker’s recent spate of quality problems and recalls.”
But few analysts thought Hyundai could pull of a luxury car or a legitimate rear-wheel drive sports car, either – so the success of the Genesis sedan and coupe took many critics by surprise.
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