Hyundai has undergone significant changes over the past 15 years, and now has many popular products on the market not just because of their low prices. However, there is still an area where the brand has not made a mark, the pickup truck segment, with the current representative being the Hyundai Santa Cruz.
The Hyundai Santa Cruz concept vehicle (Photo: Hyundai).
The Santa Cruz is a decent pickup truck model, but not very popular, so the Korean brand is said to be looking to try again, this time with a larger, more powerful electric pickup truck.
According to Naver News, in the middle of last month, Hyundai dismantled a Tesla Cybertruck at the Namyang Research Center in Korea, possibly to learn from the experience and expedite the development process in this new field. This process was completed by the end of July.
Hyundai has not made any official announcements yet, but sources suggest that the new electric pickup truck from Hyundai may also have the option of a range extender engine that only serves to charge the battery, helping to increase the vehicle's range.
Hyundai aims to achieve sales of 50,000 range-extended electric vehicles (EREVs), and the new pickup truck model may carry this target. Kia also has a similar sales target, so they may also produce an electric pickup truck.
Although the Korean media has not mentioned the all-electric versions of these pickup truck models, it is possible because some buyers may not need a range extender engine to charge the battery. In 2022, Kia announced plans to produce two electric pickup truck models, but did not mention a launch timeline.
One of the targets for the new pickup truck model is a range of over 400km and a towing capacity of 4,000kg. Perhaps this target is intended for vehicles with a range extender engine that supports battery charging, as with current battery technology, a pure electric pickup truck (BEV) would need a very large battery pack to meet these requirements.
These pickup truck models are designed according to the tastes of American consumers, so there may be some features inspired by other successful pickup truck models. Hyundai may be observing and learning from the three best-selling pickup trucks in the US market.
The Tesla Cybertruck was chosen for dissection and research because of its popularity, but other pickup truck models may have also been analyzed that have not received media attention.
Many pickup truck owners in the US like to tow heavy loads, and all electric pickup truck tests have shown that towing heavy loads will significantly reduce the vehicle's range. Although electric trucks have strong towing capabilities, diesel trucks are still better for long hauls with heavy towing.
Therefore, a pickup truck with a range extender engine to assist in battery charging may be able to meet this demand. Another advantage is that although EREVs do not have the large battery capacity of BEVs, they still have an impressive range.
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