It feels fair to say that the midsize truck segment is hotter than ever. Toyota makes one, Nissan makes one, Jeep makes one, Ford makes one, Chevrolet and GMC make one, Ram has one coming, and now there’s a new contender on the horizon. If you go off-roading in 2030, you might see a midsize Hyundai out on the trails with a cooler in the bed.
Yep, prior to its 2025 investor conference, Hyundai announced that it’s building a midsize truck for America by 2030. While Hyundai already has experience in the compact pickup arena with the Santa Cruz, building something to go toe-to-toe with the Toyota Tacoma, Chevrolet Colorado, and Ford Ranger is another thing entirely. In this segment, pretty much everything is body-on-frame, trailering capacities are rivaling those of older full-size pickup trucks, and off-road capability is basically mandatory. If this truck sticks to the norms of its segment, we could be looking at Hyundai’s first body-on-frame U.S.-spec vehicle that isn’t a semi truck. Wild.
Obviously, the chicken tax on light-duty trucks means Hyundai will probably want to build its U.S.-market midsize truck in North America, and while a specific plant hasn’t been confirmed, it wouldn’t be entirely surprising if Hyundai’s Georgia Metaplant gets it. The automaker has stated that its Georgia plant “is expected to produce a mix of 10 hybrid and EV models,” and with the Toyota Tacoma already offering a hybrid powertrain, it seems prudent to develop one for an in-house midsize truck. I guess we’ll know in the next five years, right?
Speaking of things to look forward to by 2030, Hyundai also plans on launching a range of extended-range electric vehicles, cars that primarily run on electricity but have combustion engines as generators for covering seriously long distances. The automaker’s touting a combined range of more than 600 miles, although the battery strategy sounds different than the huge packs seen in upcoming range-extender models like the Ram 1500 REV (formerly known as the Ramcharger) and Scout Terra:
Unlike conventional EREVs, Hyundai’s approach utilizes in-house high-performance batteries, achieving full EV power performance with less than half the battery capacity, improving accessibility while maintaining exceptional range and performance, and eliminating range anxiety.
Smaller battery packs than traditional range extender hybrids is an interesting move because many jurisdictions with EV mandates have fairly rigid electric range rules for zero-emissions vehicle credits. Canada requires that plug-in hybrids and extended-range electric vehicles be capable of travelling at least 50 miles on electric power alone to be eligible for credits, and the recently implemented Euro 6e-bis emissions standard applies harsher judgment than before on the proportion of mileage driven on electric power.
Obviously, traditional hybrids that can drive the wheels using their combustion engines remain on the docket too, with the first hybrid Genesis model still on track for 2026. Considering models like the GV80 SUV are lovely but thirsty, an efficiency boost is just what the luxury wing needs. While Genesis does use electrified superchargers, stepping things up from a few dozen to a few hundred volts really ought to drum up further interest.
Oh, and if you’ve been eagerly wondering if more rubber-burning shenanigans are coming as you read this, Hyundai’s also plotting more high-performance N cars. While the current global lineup consists of the pint-sized i20 N, the i30 N hatchback, the feisty Elantra N, the trendsetting Ioniq 5 N EV, and the Ioniq 6 N electric sedan, that’s growing to “more than seven models by 2030,” which means we can expect at least two more performance cars from the brand in the next five years.
So, from a truck to range-extender hybrids to more track-tuned high-performance cars, there’s a lot to look forward to from Hyundai by 2030. Sure, it’s possible that a production version of the N Vision 74 concept is one of the upcoming N cars, or that not all EREV models will make it to America, but we’ll just have to give it a couple whole calendar flips to play out.
Top graphic images: Toyota; Hyundai
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2030 sounds more like a clean sheet design but they do have the kia mid size to work from. From the Aussie tear downs it seems well engineered and built. Hyundai and Kia also do well in many markets with cabover style trucks. I’ve often wondered why they haven’t brought them to the US market they could probably do final assembly and build the frames at their complex in Georgia to get around a lot of things and the Bev probably wouldn’t be that hard to get them compliant.
So do they have an existing platform to base thing thing off of or is this going to be a clean sheet design? In this day and age Im highly skeptical about the latter, maybe a partnership is in the cards, have they partnered with any other automakers for anything like this recently?
They have Kia’s Tasman frame. Maybe they’ll just widen it, stick some batteries underneath it, and call it a day.
They would have to fix the ugly though… Seen a few on the road now, and they are truly awful looking – especially the lower spec with small wheels/tyres.
I think the trayback looks alright… which is something they would never sell in America.
I’d be surprised if they give us a BOF truck, seems more likely they would offer something similar to a Ridgeline.
It’s already confirmed in the Investor Day video that it will be BOF.
I’m excited to see a new competitor in the midsize truck segment, I think Hyundai could do well here.
Other people have suggested contract manufacturing with Nissan – fantastic idea. I can see a world where Hyundai builds a bunch of these EREVs using Nissan’s ample US factory capacity and Nissan survives with help from contract manufacturing.
I think exporting from the US to at least Europe is still going to be viable in the near and long term and might help Hyundai do this efficiently.
Regarding the tax credits, they should focus on producing a vehicle that has a battery small enough that the price stands on its own against ICE variants. It should be the choice on the merits.
Forget the chicken tax, it’s the tariff flavor of the day. Guesses, for me, are that they use someone else to build it for them (Nissan?) locally in US, and somewhere else for export to the rest of the world.
The headline is misleading. I read Hyundai’s report, no where does it put the “midsize truck” and “600 mile EREV” in the same sentence, they’re just two new techs being worked on unrelated. The EREVs are by 2027, the truck is 2030, and only Genesis is mentioned as getting EREVs across its whole lineup.
Honestly there are even more interesting claims not covered in the article, like the 5 vehicle partnership with GM. Sounds like 4 of them are for Central/South America, but the US spec commercial van sounds interesting. Is GM still doing Brightdrop? Is this van in a different category?
Good! This segment is in need of a shakeup. Why nobody has done this is beyond me. Having a thirsty truck use less energy, be it electrons or gasoline, is a good thing!
I wonder how they’ll approach 4WD and a proper low range. Twin electric motors and the gas engine solely being a generator works. (Ask your doctor about) Stellantis has shown that spinning lots of gears and driveshafts eats range but is simpler to implement.
I think the EREV and truck are two unrelated vehicles. It would be a cool concept though.
So, GM is going to stand around and watch everyone else make EREV pickup trucks? I am still amazed that the only hybrid in the GM lineup is the E-Ray.
I think their investment into EVs is going to pay off in the long term.
That said, not having a hybrid Equinox (and probably Traverse) is a big miss. Those are vehicles that go to value conscious customers and fleets that aren’t ready for EVs.
Yeah, I think GM being ahead of the EV curve will work out in the long run. It looks bad now because our country is really fucking stupid, but EVs are inevitable and the ones GM has are already competitive. I see the Equinox EV on every commute and Cadillac’s are apparently very good.
It’s very odd since they already made the Volt in the past. But GM’s gotta do GM things.
Hyundai is doing what VW should have done after Dieselgate. They had a head start, promising to invest heavily in EVs and such, and they’re completely fumbled it in typical large automaker fashion.
“They had a head start, promising to invest heavily in EVs and such, and they’re completely intentionally sabotaged it in typical large automaker fashion.”
FIFY… probably.
You know, I really wouldn’t be surprised. Back when they reached the settlement, I don’t think VW too EV/hybrids seriously enough and just did what they had to do in terms of the settlement.
Pretty sure Electrify America was intended from the start to be a FU America.
Yes I’ve heard the quote that Electrify America “had the enthusiasm typical of court-ordered community service”
Meanwhile, in Europe, Skoda (a VW group company) is third in sales YTD due in part to their EVs…
VW is one of those brands where the US experience of the brand is entirely different than the European one. From brand image, vehicles, subsidiaries, target markets, they may as well be two separate companies.
I think this is the perfect market for EREV. Powertrains in the midsize market are largely…. meh. While things have improved from like 5-10 years ago, powertrains in midsizers are still largely rattly, not very powerful (feeling at least, on paper they post good power figures but I never get that feeling when actually driving them), and not particularly fuel efficient. Going full size often cures those first two problems without really making the 3rd one any worse; it would be nice to find a cure that isn’t going to a bigger truck. Yes, there are a few bright spots like the Ranger Raptor, but those are the rare exception.
It IS wild how efficient full sizes are compared to mid sizers. Especially with the Silverado, the Colorado comes with the same 2.7 turbo as the base Silverado, but is someone rated for worse MPG than the much larger Silverado.
With people reporting 22, 23 mpg with 5.3L Silverados and 5.0 F-150’s, it makes it harder to justify the smaller truck.
It’s a hot segment where sales for each brand are high enough to not warrant real competition. I was excited for the Tacoma Hybrid until it became clear it was only for increased power rather than fuel efficiency. What a waste.
Same with the hybrid Tundra. It gets worse mileage than its V8 competitors.
I feel like Toyota really dropped the ball with these new hybrid 4×4’s. All that extra weight and complexity, and they barely get better mileage than the larger N/A engines they replace.
There may be some production advantages for Toyota, but no tangible benefits to the end user. Maybe they’ve determined that a version tuned for efficiency at the cost of power is unmarketable. I hope some other entrant determines otherwise.
TIL Hyundai makes a semi truck for the US.
I guess you can count the current fuel cell truck. But I know there were a few class 5 trucks 20+ years ago with Detroits in them. They do serve the Mexican market and most of Latin America with class 8 and class 5 and 6 trucks. Along with busses. There were claims some transit organization had gotten Hyundai busses in the US years ago but who knows. Here is one of the class 5 trucks for sale. https://www.ritchielist.com/trucks-trailers/flatbed-trucks-flatbed-truck/hyundai-hld150/7dff8673-ac1b-41f7-b36a-6e479c569e8a.html
What they need is something equivalent to the Chevy “WT” trim or the Ford “XL” trim used on their trucks. A basic model with just enough creature comforts at a killer price and they will sell like hotcakes.
Eh. If they are taking on the Tacoma specifically, I’m not sure a base model is worth it. I’m not sure how many base spec Tacomas are sold stateside.
Tacoma buyers will buy whatever is on the lot, so base spec tends to be by special order. A Hyundai pickup is unlikely to be received with the same enthusiasm. A comparatively low-priced base model in abundant numbers may help sway prospective buyers.
The N Vision 74 joins the Copperhead and 2010 Quattro on the list of concept cars that I dearly wish made it to production
I always wanted a full size truck as my kids get older and we move a lot of stuff during road trips, but I am waiting for the right EREV to become available either from Ford or GM, I dont trust Stellantis for these stuff. The full BEV are nice but I would rather have electric mode for city driving and gas for road trips.
As long as the price of EREV doesn’t make them way more expensive then their BEV counter parts I will be excited for them. But so far in my roughly half a year of EV ownership I haven’t really thought of ” oh I really wish I had a range extender” though I have not taken it on any long trips yet but we are planning to take it to Florida at some point from Northwest Indiana.
My only thing with range extenders it is just adding in back in more complications and more maintenance needs when with a BEV I am so glad not having to worry about oil changes and the likes.
Here in the PNW where a lot of people take their mid-size trucks out into the wilderness, an EREV makes a ton of sense. You can pretty easily get yourself hours away from a gas station, let alone an EV charger, so being able to fuel up with a jerry can is not just convenient, it’s a safety thing.
I daily an EV, but I will only drive into rural areas as far as I can reliably make the return trip on a single charge, just because reliable EV chargers can still be a little hard to come by. That’s still a pretty large EV radius, but an EREV or PHEV would make that radius moot.
It also makes a ton of sense for camping. Who wouldn’t want a powerful, clean, quiet power and heat generator always there, ready at a moments notice that doesn’t need to be loaded and unloaded every trip?
This. Same rationale for jobsite trucks and standby home generators.
Yeah that makes sense especially for the Scout EV (if it actually comes out) as if out wheeling you would want to make sure you have the extra juice to get back.
I love that Ram just gave up on the BEV-only. That, in addition to this, even with the vague ‘2030’ timeline, means that there is now a race for makers to get my money. Scout (a VW brand *shudder*), REV (a Stellantis brand *shudder*), or Hyundai, who has a track record for getting this stuff right, but is slated to take longer (yay!)
To be clear the article says they are going to introduce a mid size pickup. It also says they are going to introduce a EREV but no where does it say that the pickup will be an EREV. It certainly could be but that is not what they have announced at this point from reading the article.
You are correct. I feel like I was misled by the article’s title.
It turns out that it would be “prudent to guess” that it would be an EREV from the megaplant.
I hope they do make it, though.
I agree the title was a little misleading.
One of the inevitable questions is how much of this will be influenced by the recent unpleasantness at another factory.
Though the “by 2030” might be a deadline that’s relatively flexible just in case something happens where staff can feel safer visiting their investments in the US.
Really excited for EREV trucks. Would definitely give Hyundai a chance, but hoping this pushes Toyota towards doing it.
Nissan may be the only one genuinely concerned about this.
Unless they’re contract to build it for Hyundai in Tennessee.
With a halt on all exports from Nissan’s US factories, beyond normal Nissan woes, they’re sure to have spare capacity.
Nissan at it’s Dealer Meeting in Las Vegas a few weeks ago already announced a next-generation Frontier that will debut for the 2028 model year and will have available electrified powertrain options. I don’t think they need to worry (as long as they don’t go bankrupt before then?).
I’m a bit surprised that Hyundai wants to push further into the truck space. Anecdotally, I see only one Santa Cruz for each 10-15 Mavericks on the road.
That might be part of the reason why, actually. The Santa Cruz is a weird vehicle, and not really what most people actually want from a truck, but if they try again and go a smidge more traditional they might get those truck bucks.
The Santa Cruz is weird looking, it’s inexcusably inefficient, and the packaging isn’t great. The back seats are tiny as well, AND it’s more expensive than a Maverick. I think if it launched in the 20 teens they would’ve sold a few of them but the Maverick was so good from the get go that the Santa Cruz was kinda DOA.
They also don’t have a hybrid option and aren’t planning one. I think that’s a big miss as well. I get that they want to prioritize their battery resources for higher volume sellers, but I think the idea that the average truck/lifestyle vehicle buyer doesn’t care about fuel economy is a little dated.
I think it’s absolutely true for full sized and bigger BOF buyers, but not as much the folks that would shop for a trucklet or something similar. I think that’s the reason why Honda isn’t selling very many Passports, to be honest. Almost all of the ones listed here in the DC area have $2-5,000 on their hoods already, which is really rare for a Honda.
Here is my guess. And I could be wrong. It’ll be a car-based truck with no frame, with a useless 3-4 foot bed
My hope for a standard cab, 2-door EV with a big bed will likely remain unfulfilled.
Slate is as close as you’re reasonably getting to that.
But they already sell the Santa Cruz, sooooo…
Maybe they’ll copy Honda Ridgeline’s homework and at least go bigger?
So a Hyundai version of the Kia Tasman? Why? Hyundai is supposed to be the slightly-fancier Kia but not as fancy as Genesis (though H/K is admittedly inconsistent with this).
If they want to do this, they should establish the Tasman first, THEN release a Hyundai model that would be roughly analogous to the chevy/gmc model relationship (but even that seems redundant, as there’s so much overlap with higher-trim chevy models and gmc).
They do give-or-take in certain minor segments. There’s no Kia Ioniq 6. There’s no Hyundai Niro. There’s no Kia Santa Cruz. There’s no Hyundai Carnival. They understand that in minor segments that level of infighting simply isn’t worth it.
In any case, it does seem weird to want to create a new product instead of just building the Tasman in the U.S., but I suppose the Kia is more Hilux/Navara oriented and they probably want to make something bigger for Americans.
I agree with what you’re saying. I meant the redundancy to reflect on gm, and how having a specific dealership network for higher-cost vehicles doesn’t always guarantee success when a lower-priced version also exists.
I guess there’s an inherent hierarchy between Hyundai/Kia with Hyundai being slightly higher (their name is on the conglomerate after all), but I’ve never really seen them as on different levels, more just for different tastes.
I personally see Kia as appealing more to Western, ‘sporty’, or ‘outdoorsy’ demographics whereas Hyundai is meant to be slightly avant-garde with plusher appeal to a more blingy Asian audience.
As a first-generation Volt owner, it makes me happy to see the term EREV coming back, in a “mythologizing the past” sort of way.
And yeah, I’m all in favor of more trucks getting this treatment. If we aren’t going to make the damn things smaller or lower (yes, even midsizers) at least we can stuff a powertrain in there that mitigates their fuel consumption around town.
This. They’re so engrained in our culture at this point that it’s futile trying to convince the average Joe he doesn’t absolutely need a 5,000+ pound body on frame all wheel drive behemoth to get to his office job and back…so if we’re gonna be stuck with them we might as well make them less wasteful.
Average Joe does not want to be bullied or teased by the other boys at the office.
Average Joe would do well to define masculinity for himself and not worry about what other people think of his car….but based on where we’re at these days that’s A LONG way off….
This is such a complex issue. I live in the Bay Area. But as soon as I leave it and it turns into “real America” in the burbs or outlying areas. Every single white male is driving a full sized behemoth of a truck. And of those, a lot of them, I would say as high as 50% of said trucks have been lifted and changed to make them even MORE huge looking.
Its like a bunch of peacocks: Out there struttin’ around letting all of the other white males that you too are a badass and the huge truck is a clear indication of that fact.
And its clear the manufactures are only too happy to provide the goods to keep right on with the fantasy. Which is why most of the full sized trucks available now are so large, so far off the ground, with beds that are at my shoulder level that they are barely usable anymore. On the rare occasion I have either driven or ridden in one its totally uncomfortable and I feel like I’m constantly about to get into the opposite lane. Apparently its worth it to have a impractically large truck to impress the boys.
I dunno. Whenever I see one of those brodozers coming my way my instant reaction is that the driver is a moron.
I read your second paragraph in Hank Hill’s voice lol. But yeah, you’re bang on. I refer to the whole ecosystem as the truck industrial complex. There’s a weird codependency going on. None of the American manufacturers would be shit without a constant supply of people buying these things…so they’re constantly blitzing traditionally masculine things (football, etc) with obnoxious advertising about how YER TRUCK IS YOUR MANHOOD AND YOU HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO OWN ONE AS A FREE AMERICAN!
Insecure men who don’t fit the classic All American mold see this and rush out to buy Rams and such. But it’s gone way too far, because the manufacturers have gone TEE HEE LINE GO UP ALL THAT MATTERS IS THE NEXT EARNINGS CALL, played on the insecurities, and turned the things into fucking caricatures while charging more than the average household can responsible afford.
And so Ford, GM, hell even Toyota have special finance wings specifically for trucks. They have way longer terms and often lower interest rates. I figured this out when I was looking at Toyotas recently for my wife. You want a Sienna? You’re paying MSRP if you’re lucky and in house financing is 3 years at 4.99% APR.
But if you want a Tundra? It’s $10,000 off sticker financed over however long you want at 1.99% APR. HMMMMM. Seems convenient! Why don’t I just make the Tundra my super manly family car?!?! And of course the other consequence of these damn things is how wasteful and dangerous they are. They literally make life for everyone else worse.
And so on and so forth. The issue is nationally we are more than a trillion dollars in car debt right now, the average price of a new car (aka a truck or SUV) is about $50,000, and the average length of a loan just eclipsed 60 months. Meanwhile median household income is somewhere between 60k and 80k depending on who you ask.
ALL OF THIS IS VERY BAD! And all of the truck bros are getting played like fiddles. Unfortunately we also have a fascist political party running the show now that literally came to power by convincing these same gullible people they’re marginalized and that they’re going to get their mythical $150,000 a year, 3 day per week factory jobs if they hate poor people and minorities enough.
None of this is going to end well. Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.
And here’s the thing: ALL of the new trucks are garbage. All of them and yes, that goes for the new Tundra. They have all gone the whole turbocharged V6 route. And on top of that quality control, even at Toyota has been sagging. GM has a remarkable issue with some of their V8’s where the rods are snapping in under 1,000 miles. For a $100,000 truck.
I see this and it annoys me. I grew up in a rural area and back then you got a truck because:
A: It was cheaper
B: Its handy to use them for hauling rocks, firewood, lawn mowers, tractors, junk for the landfill and you can get them dirty since its a truck and nobody cares.
We had mostly little toyota trucks. We abused the crap out of them. I still have my small Tacoma bought 30 years ago.
These new trucks are really silly. They are styled to look nice to mostly white males who live in middle America and have never matured past high school- where they lived the only glory years of their entire lives- being on the football team and immediately getting married and poppin’ out a liter-o-kids before the age of 20. Yes. It that ” Badass” ” Aren’t you scared of me?” look. Except its mostly about putting big gaudy looking grills on the front, made out of the finest chrome plated plastic and black ABS.
Sorry. In light of all of the bullshit happening in the country right now I have zero patience for redneck nonsense anymore.
You don’t have to apologize, I agree with you. I also understand the value of a truck as a utilitarian choice. I’m a city dweller in DC but I spend a significant amount of time out in the country (Northern Neck of VA) because my family has always had property out there.
If I lived down there and did any significant amount of work with my hands I’d absolutely own a truck. We also have to schlep stuff to the dump, haul landscaping equipment, tractors, watercraft, etc. My dad and I have talked about just getting an old beater Taco or Tundra to leave there. I’ve also considered a small truck as my daily in the city before. If they had a hybrid version of the Colorado/Canyon I’d definitely consider it.
A truck is always a good thing to have around. But the current half ton stuff is just fucking absurd. They all have bigger footprints than a Suburban or Expedition, they struggle to fit in parking spaces, they hold up traffic and cyclists in the city because of how big they are, the list is endless. They’re just a massive hindrance to everyone around them and when I see parking lot princesses in the city they legitimately make me angry. It just screams I don’t give a shit about anyone but me.
There was a time not that long ago when that kind of attitude wasn’t acceptable, but unfortunately now it’s the norm. I also don’t think almost anyone needs the level of capability that current half tons offer. They’re basically HD trucks from 10 years ago with regard to size and capability. Like 90% of the people that drive them would just fine with a Maverick and the folks who have to tow can get a Taco or Colorado or something.
I’m sorry, but no one who isn’t a contractor or mobile home/huge boat owner needs more than 8,000 pounds of towing capacity.
Anyone else remember when thrift and humility were considered masculine virtues? Just me? OK.
(In college some decades ago we discussed Playboy’s role in the postwar marketing campaign to rewire younger men from savers to consumers.)
That is a discussion I’m unfamiliar with! (Does it imply that these young gentlemen were indeed reading the articles…?)
Kind of. Faded memories, but basically, there was tons of money sloshing around in the postwar boom. Women had been pushed back into the kitchen and then molded into an infantilized image as homemakers and frivolous shoppers, but men were still careful with their money thanks to the thrifty virtues they’d been raised with.
So how do we sell more stuff? Turn men into frivolous shoppers too, by constructing a new kind of masculinity that was sophisticated, worldly, roguish rather than virtuous, attractive to hot chicks, and spent money like they were on shore leave. Playboy was on the roguish side of that, a way of affirming that you weren’t following your father’s virtues.
…and a few decades later we get vice-signalling as a political movement.
And empathy, if you go back to 1900 or so.
bring back Lord of the Rings masculinity, where it was okay to weep, kiss the foreheads of your beloved friends, and have the kind of dad bod it takes to haul your despair-stricken buddy up the slope of an active volcano.
Dang right! Stoicism yes, but caring and sympathy too.
“Anyone else remember when thrift and humility were considered masculine virtues?”
Yes.
“Just me?”
No