A high-ranking Hyundai executive in Australia says “it’s just a matter of time” before the Korean firm adds a right-hand-drive bakkie to its line-up. Question is, what will it be?
Rumours of a right-hand-drive Hyundai bakkie have been swirling for several years. But, if the latest comments from a high-ranking executive in Australia are anything to go by, there’s plenty of weight behind said rumours.
Yes, according to John Kett, Hyundai Motor Company Australia’s chief operating officer, “it’s just a matter of time” before the Korean firm adds a right-hand-drive bakkie to its line-up. Speaking to CarsGuide , Kett was unequivocal in his stance.
“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,” he said, 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”. That, of course, suggests any upcoming Hyundai pick-up will not simply be a rebadged version of sister company Kia’s new Tasman 1-tonne bakkie , which is due to launch in early 2025 in turbodiesel guise.
Instead, Kett’s comments add substance to a recent report from the same Australian publication claiming that the Santa Cruz – a unibody bakkie based on the Tucson SUV and currently produced exclusively in left-hand-drive form – will be built in both left- and right-hooker guise in its 2nd generation. This 2nd iteration could, according to CarsGuide , hit the road as early as 2026.
Another option for Hyundai, of course, 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 nhere in South Africa), which earlier reports suggest could be applied to some form of battery-powered pick-ups.
In addition, 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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