Hyundai’s stylish Santa Cruz Concept pickup truck was first revealed as a concept at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show. Later in 2018 it was reported that Santa Cruz will go into production by 2019 and will likely hit the showrooms by 2020.
Related: Hyundai Santa Cruz Pickup Truck to Launch in 2020
Now for the first time courtesy KoreanCarBlog, the Santa Cruz pickup has been spied wearing heavy camouflage wraps standing inside a parking lot. From the looks of it, the test vehicle appears almost production-ready with all the final body panels in place.
As evident in the picture, the Santa Cruz’s extended cab body style with rear-hinged half-doors has been dropped in favor of a roomier double cab shape with proper rear doors giving access to rear seats. The loading bed doesn’t look that large, but it’s quite expected considering the fact that Hyundai is pitching the Santa Cruz as a stylish “Crossover Truck.”
According to KoreanCarBlog, the Santa Cruz shares a similar internal code name as the next Tuscon (NX4), with the Santa Cruz’s version receiving the “OB” appended to the NX4 code for “NX4 OB.” This suggests that the Santa Cruz will likely feature a unibody as opposed to a more traditional body-on-frame pickup truck. Furthermore, it is said that Kia will as well produce its own pickup truck based on the Santa Cruz.
Related: Hyundai and Kia to Foray in Pickup Truck Segment
The Santa Cruz pickup will be assembled at Hyundai’s plant in Montgomery, Alabama USA, following a $410 million retooling investment.
A computer animation professional with over 23 years of industry experience having served in leading organizations, TV channels & production facilities in Pakistan. An avid car enthusiast and petrolhead with an affection to deliver quality content to help shape opinions. Formerly written for PakWheels as well as major publications including Dawn. Founder of CarSpiritPK.com
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