A senior Hyundai R&D director has suggested the Hyundai Santa Cruz concept could lead to a production version, although there are still “hurdles” to overcome…
THE HYUNDAI SANTA CRUZ ute concept that was unveiled at the Detroit Motor Show early this year, might just become a reality with a senior Hyundai R&D manager telling Reuters the company is considering selling utes after the “strong response” to the concept.
That said, Park Byung-cheol, a director at Hyundai’s R&D division, added that there were “hurdles” to the production, but wouldn’t say what those hurdles might be.
According to rumour, Hyundai chose Detroit for the reveal of the Santa Cruz rather than an Asian motor show for foreign executives to get a better understanding of the demand for this sort of product. Seems it might have worked.
At the reveal in Detroit, Hyundai said there was absolutely nothing production-ready about the Santa Cruz and that it even lacked an interior. Just what platform a possible Hyundai ute might sit on remains to be seen.
