The hybrid, electric, or internal combustion engine Santa Cruz is not a workhorse like the body-on-frame Ford Ranger or Toyota Hilux. Similar to the Honda Ridgeline, it is more of a recreational or light-duty vehicle that can carry camping goods, motorcycles, bicycles, and other light-duty tools and machinery.
The Hyundai Santa Cruz Electric, if introduced in the present generation, would be a conversion of the current ICE vehicle rather than a brand-new truck created from scratch. Although its general size and proportions might be comparable, its front and rear may be significantly altered. For instance, it might feature functional adjustments like a radiator grille that is covered and body-colored, aerodynamic alloy wheels, and revised tail lights and bumpers.
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The electric pickup will probably face competition from vehicles like the Rivian R1T, GM Hummer, and Ford’s F-150 Lightning.
Hyundai Motor Co. intends to enter the fiercely competitive industry by releasing an electric version of the Santa Cruz pickup, the South Korean automaker’s debut vehicle for the American market.
Hyundai Motor is reportedly exploring releasing hybrid and all-electric versions of the little pickup truck.
Instead of employing Hyundai’s specific EV platform, E-GMP, the top Korean manufacturer would use the existing Santa Cruz platform with batteries added to create the pickup’s electric variant, according to the sources.
They stated that no decision had been made about the precise date of the Santa Cruz EV’s launch.
In an effort to appeal to young, female drivers who prefer little trucks to large ones, Hyundai unveiled the Santa Cruz this summer, going head-to-head with the Ford Maverick in the sector.
Front-wheel drive is standard on the Santa Cruz, but all-wheel drive and one of two 2.5-liter four-cylinder engines—one with 180 horsepower and the other with 275 horsepower—are available as options.
The Santa Cruz, which was manufactured in Alabama, reportedly sold the most cars in August, the month it first went on sale, according to US media reports.
As the Biden administration works to have half of new automobiles sold in America be electric by 2030, numerous automakers have announced plans to provide electric pickups in the upcoming years.
In mid-September, US EV startup Rivian, sponsored by Amazon and Ford, outperformed Tesla, General Motors Co., and other automakers to become the first to commercially release an electric truck.
With a starting price of $67,500, Rivian’s R1T electric pickup truck has a claimed range of 314 miles (505 km) and is powered by a battery pack from Samsung SDI Co.
In order to gain access to the Korean market, the US-based EV firm has also registered its trademark with South Korean authorities.
A few other automakers will follow Rivian in producing an electric pickup before the end of the following year.
The GMC Hummer EV pickup from GM is anticipated to come next this fall. Ford and Tesla will follow the following year, while Tesla just delayed the delivery of its Cybertruck from this year to late 2022.
Ford announced last week that it would double the yearly production capacity of the F-150 Lightning to 80,000 vehicles by investing an additional $250 million and adding 450 jobs across three Michigan plants.
The Detroit carmaker has now spent roughly $950 million on the creation of an electric and hybrid F-150.
Bill Ford, chairman of Ford, said, “We knew the F-150 Lightning was exceptional, but the public’s interest has exceeded our best expectations.
Ford will sell approximately 880,000 pickup trucks in the US in 2020, followed by GM and Stellantis.
In May, Hyundai Motor Group said that it would invest $7.4 billion in its US operations by 2025, focusing on emerging mobility markets such as electric vehicles (EVs).
The funding will enable the group’s Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp. to produce electric automobiles in the United States.
The New Hyundai Santa Cruz Has Problems
It’s challenging to deviate from the norm, yet there are already 5 issues with the brand-new Hyundai Santa Cruz. Some should be fixable by Hyundai, while others would demand significant expenditure from the Korean automaker.
The 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz was widely praised when it was unveiled earlier this week by Hyundai. It seems that the tiny pickup truck (or sport utility vehicle) has been in high demand throughout the world, yet few people outside the automobile industry seem to be talking about it.
There are 5 issues with the Santa Cruz that are apparent almost right away. Some (electric version) are simple to repair and some aren’t. All should have an impact on your choice to purchase a 2022 Santa Cruz.
(Though we don’t necessarily detest the Santa Cruz. Additionally, there are five positive aspects of the Santa Cruz to be aware of.
The first is that Hyundai isn’t a pickup truck manufacturer. Yes, underneath the Santa Cruz lies a Hyundai Tucson. The crew at the Hyundai facility in Alabama and the rest of the Santa Cruz are brand-new to Hyundai. The 2022 model will undoubtedly have problems that will be resolved for the 2023 model year. Wait a year and be patient. Allow the kinks to be ironed out.
The second factor is the engine selection. The Hyundai Kona’s 1.6-liter 4-cylinder direct-injected, turbocharged engine might be a better option because of its lower peak torque delivery, which seems more appropriate for a sport activity vehicle that isn’t designed for speed. A seven-speed dual-clutch transmission also makes more sense, in my opinion.
The targeted market—citizens—is the third problem. They are a fiction, particularly in light of the epidemic, which caused a mass exodus from urban areas. The 2022 Santa Cruz will be extremely popular among consumers who don’t require marketing. The challenge will begin in 2023 and beyond.
Its four-door status as a sport utility vehicle is the fourth problem. If this had been a two-door car with a small inside cargo section that could squeeze in two kids in a hurry, more space may have been obtained in the bed. It’s an informed assumption, but the Santa Cruz’s target clientele won’t be families; rather, it will be active couples without children. The bed would be more useful if it were a coupe.
The option of powertrains is the sixth problem. Where can I find an electric choice? Hyundai is making a significant push to control the global market for electric vehicles. To introduce the Santa Cruz EV right away would have been a strike. It has the platform technology for electric vehicles. Hyundai wants to sell 1 million electrified cars worldwide by the year 2025. With the announcement of a 10-vehicle EV lineup, it made a significant advancement toward that aim. There ought to have been 11 cars.
How do you feel? Do you have any further difficulties in mind? Are the concerns we brought up incorrect? Comment below.
Will Hyundai produce a Santa Cruz electric vehicle?
The Tucson and Santa Cruz both share the same platform as of 2022. This Hyundai crossover currently comes with both a hybrid and a plug-in hybrid option.
Will Hyundai go to all-electric vehicles?
Although it won’t happen straight away, Hyundai has official intentions to launch a cheap, entry-level electric vehicle in Europe. The company recently debuted its well-liked Ioniq 5 crossover, and it intends to follow it up with a number of other all-electric models in the future.
Both Hyundai and Kia have dabbled in electrification before, and less expensive “entry-level” variants have been readily accessible for some time. We’re referring to his preferences for the Kia Soul EV, Kia Niro EV, and Hyundai Kona Electric. But the Ioniq 5 and the Kia EV6 are the companies’ first purpose-built electric vehicles, riding on a worldwide platform created especially for EVs.
Hyundai will launch the Ioniq 6 sedan, which will compete with the Tesla Model 3, after the Ioniq 5 crossover, which is a Tesla Model Y competition. The three-row Ioniq 7 SUV is expected to go on sale in a matter of years from the South Korean company. Three-row SUVs that are entirely electric are currently hard to find. It’s a market that deserves to be addressed by manufacturers of electric cars as quickly as possible, much like the market for electric pickup trucks.
In addition to its growing lineup of electric vehicles (EVs) that will compete with Tesla, Ford, and other automakers, Hyundai understands the value of cost-effective choices, particularly in Europe. Although they’ve made it apparent that’s not necessarily the aim with lineups like those of the series of higher-end Ioniqs and Genesis models coming to market now and in the future, Hyundai and Kia have long been the industry leaders in terms of value.
All things considered, according to Andreas-Christoph Hofmann, marketing director for Hyundai Motor Europe, the company has committed to launching an entry-level all-electric vehicle in Europe in the future. The “battery-powered minicar” will take some time to evolve into a form that can go into production, Hofmann was explicit in saying.
The popularity of small cars in Europe is something that automakers like Volkswagen Group hope to capitalize on as they prepare their upcoming EV lines. According to Automotive News Europe, VW Group is aiming for entry-level electric cars from Cupra, Skoda, Volkswagen, and other brands under its umbrella to have beginning pricing of around EUR20,000 (around $20,500).
Hofman claims that when Hyundai is prepared to release its cost-effective micro EV to the market, it will aim for a comparable beginning price. At the Automotive News Europe Congress in Prague, he stated
Everyone in the industry is aware that 20,000 euros is the goal price for this type of car.
Tesla has also mentioned developing a more affordable entry-level vehicle in the future, but, like its Cybertruck project, that initiative keeps getting postponed. Meanwhile, General Motors CEO Mary Barra keeps repeating that the automaker intends to undercut Tesla on pricing by releasing a number of reasonably priced EVs on the market soon.
In addition to the Ioniq 5, Hofman stated that by 2030 Hyundai will have introduced 11 other all-electric vehicles. The Ioniq 6 sedan is scheduled to debut in Europe before the end of 2022, although most markets won’t get it until early 2023 or later.
Hofman added that the Ioniq 7 is targeted primarily at Americans as many of them have a preference for larger cars. An inexpensive EV minicar, on the other hand, would do fairly well on the American market, according to some EV supporters.
Hyundai might produce an electric truck.
The Santa Cruz appears to be Hyundai’s first and final gas-powered truck.
The Hyundai Santa Cruz is still a great vehicle that combines the advantages of an SUV and a truck into a single unit, even though it is currently about 20,000 units behind the Ford Maverick in terms of sales for 2022. These two little pickups have been so popular that Toyota is thinking of introducing a rival model. However, now that Hyundai has demonstrated its ability to create a desirable truck with a unibody chassis, could the company go one step further and create a more conventional pickup with a ladder frame chassis? Yes, but an influential Hyundai executive claims that it will be electric.
Hyundai Vice President of Product and Strategy Thomas Schemera made a strong suggestion in an interview with Australia’s Drive that a new truck for the Aussie market and elsewhere will not employ a traditional gas or diesel powertrain.
According to Schemera, “I have had numerous conversations with the Australian market, and I know there is a significant need for that [a ute] and I genuinely appreciate that.” However, “it makes no sense to start building vehicles on an ICE [petrol or diesel-engined] basis.”
Schemera’s remarks are not entirely shocking given how quickly Hyundai is converting to electric vehicles. The spectacular Ioniq 6 has just been unveiled, while the updated Ioniq 5 is already available. In addition, several manufacturers including Ford and General Motors have already introduced their first electric pickup trucks.
Since the Santa Cruz is exclusively offered in the United States, Hyundai has an opportunity to introduce a more traditional truck in other regions, such as Australia. Well, traditional in that it would have more durable truck foundations; Schemera’s remarks appear to rule out the prospect of a powerful V6 or V8-powered Hyundai truck to compete with the Ranger or gas-powered F-150.
Regarding the upcoming truck from Hyundai, Schemera stated, “Nothing has been verified yet.” “However, I can think that we [will] make it happen if there is a means to exhibit and create cars like that, for example, for Australia and the US.”
Kia also intends to enter the market for electric pickup trucks by 2026. Given how frequently Hyundai and Kia’s plans coincide, this may be the time frame for the release of Hyundai’s own electric pickup. Our best bet is that it will resemble a Ranger and have significantly more capabilities than the Santa Cruz, making it a competitor for the impending Ranger Lightning. We wouldn’t rule out Hyundai’s second pickup giving the Blue Oval a run for its money, despite Ford’s sustained dominance in the truck category.