Though there has been no official confirmation directly from Hyundai, there are a lot of auto blogs and articles that suggest a 2020 release date. With new competitors joining the segment from Ford and FCA, waiting a year or so to bring it to market could be a costly mistake. The addition of a midsize truck to their range of vehicles would also increase the versatility that the company has on offer, allowing for a natural expansion. The success of this model will define how the company treats this segment in the future, and this could be one of the few examples where a non domestic truck has managed to break into the US market.
The Korean carmaker told CNBC it expects a production version of the Santa Cruz will launch in the U.S. market in 2020 or sometime the following year. The Santa Cruz pickup concept was revealed at the January 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Originally intended as little more than a styling exercise, the compact pickup will become a central part of the push by Hyundai to expand its presence in the booming U.S. light truck market.
Hyundai wants to build it and yes, it's only a matter of time when the Santa Cruz will spawn a production version. In August 2017, Reuters reported that a pickup had been greenlit as Hyundai needed to correct a sales slide; a year later, we envisioned a 2020 unveiling date for the finalized truck. Now, Autocar says Hyundai is launching the truck "as soon as possible."