The battle for midsize pickup sales supremacy has largely seen the Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger swapping places. But while those two are in the lead in terms of worldwide sales, there are new challengers that would like to take away sales from the perennial front runners.
There’s the influx of Chinese models, but there’s also legacy automakers that are dipping their toes in the challenging segment. Perhaps the most recent would be Kia with the Tasman, but sister company Hyundai wants a piece of the action, too.
As reported by Drive, Hyundai Australia CEO told reporters that he would like to see it happen soon. “I’ll be here for three or four years. And I want the program locked and loaded before I go. I’m confident a ute will be on the schedule, but I’m not certain on the time,” said Romano.
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Granted, Hyundai did confirm it will build a pickup, but it will be a full electric model. It seems that Romano would like something that can match the likes of, you guessed it, the Hilux and Ranger. Romano added that the timeline will depend on what kind of pickup Hyundai would like to build, and if it were based on the Tasman, “That could be soon,” said the executive.
That said, there is one major hurdle to overcome, and that’s not Kia from possibly keeping the chassis exclusively theirs. Instead, it’s the ever tightening emissions regulations. Over in Australia, the country recently upped its standards, and giving the pickup diesel power might prove tricky.
“Do we want a diesel? We have to look at the NVES [emissions standards] impact. We’re in better shape than some brands with NVES, but not in great shape there. If we bring in a diesel, that will change that dynamic,” Romano said.
A Tasman-based pickup makes sense since Hyundai and Kia are under one roof. It also splits costs and has the potential to rake in more sales. However, there’s also a rumor suggesting that Hyundai could get the North American Chevrolet Colorado and use its platform to start from there.
Either way, Hyundai is determined to make a midsize pickup sooner than later. Romano aims to get the model into the planning stage (at the very least) before his term finishes in Hyundai Australia. It’ll be an uphill battle for sure, but it will be interesting to see if we will see the final product before the end of the decade.
NOTE: Vehicle shown is a render
