With sister brand Kia set to enter the pick-up space, Hyundai SA says it’s “in discussions” with head office in Korea with a view to introducing its own bakkie…
The head of Hyundai Automotive South Africa has confirmed to Cars.co.za that the brand’s local division is “in discussions” with head office in Korea about the possibility of introducing a double-cab bakkie, though adds “there are no definite plans” for now.
Gideon Jansen van Rensburg, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Hyundai Automotive South Africa, was speaking to Cars.co.za during an interview conducted in a custom-built podcast booth at Naamsa’s recent South African Auto Week 2024 in Cape Town.
With sister brand Kia set to enter the traditional double-cab bakkie space with the new Tasman, we asked Jansen van Rensburg – who has been in the role since July 2023 – whether the Hyundai marque had any plans to follow suit.
“We are in discussions with Hyundai [in] Korea to look at a pick-up. Currently, there are no definite plans, so H-100 for now is the real volume seller in our [light] commercial range, along with our Cargo vehicles – the Grand i10 Cargo and the Venue Cargo,” the executive told us.
“That is our commercial range for now. But, yes, we are talking with them [Hyundai’s head office in Seoul] and looking for solutions [in terms of] what they can offer us,” Jansen van Rensburg added.
So, what sort of solutions could one day be put on the table? Well, earlier rumours suggested Hyundai had no plans to offer a ladder-frame bakkie based on the Tasman, though that could, of course, change.
Interestingly, Hyundai Motor Company Australia’s Chief Operating Officer, John Kett, told media Down Under as recently as June 2024 that “it’s just a matter of time” before the Korean firm adds a right-hand-drive bakkie to its line-up.
“We’ll love the day where we can actually tell you something about it. The reality is, we know we’re getting one – it’s just a matter of time,” Kett told CarsGuide at the time, adding that “whenever it comes, it will bring incredible value”.
Kett furthermore said “we so desperately realise we want one”, before intriguingly adding “we won’t see one in a diesel form”. These comments added substance to an earlier report claiming that the Santa Cruz – a unibody bakkie based on the Tucson SUV and currently produced exclusively in left-hand-drive form – could be built in both left- and right-hooker guise in its 2nd generation. This 2nd iteration could apparently hit the road as early as 2026.
Of course, another option for Hyundai is a fully electric bakkie of some kind. Indeed, the Korean firm has applied to trademark the Ioniq T7 and Ioniq T10 badges (including right here in South Africa), which reports suggest could be applied to some form of battery-powered pick-ups.
Furthermore, a March 2024 report out of South America claimed Hyundai was developing a new small bakkie based on the Creta, and thus set to be positioned below the aforementioned Santa Cruz. According to Brazilian media, this rumoured model could be released in initial markets “in 2026 or 2027”.
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