Hyundai eyes 'adventurers' with Santa Cruz concept

DETROIT -- Hyundai Motor Group, seeking to broaden its appeal in truck-crazy markets such as the U.S., today unveiled the genre-bending Santa Cruz concept as a possible sketch of a future crossover.Hyundai’s crossover concept features a novel extendable truck bed on the body of a four-door, five-seat crossover. The automaker said it will appeal to a group of “urban adventurers” who want the cargo space and functionality of a pickup truck for urban farming or outdoor recreation, but won’t even consider a pickup because of its price, size or styling.“For a large group of people, a traditional pickup simply doesn’t work,” Mike O’Brien, VP of corporate and product planning at Hyundai Motor America, said today.Baja déjà vu?Hyundai wouldn’t be the first automaker to graft a pickup bed onto the body of a car. The design of the Santa Cruz is reminiscent of the Subaru Baja, which the Japanese automaker built in Indiana from 2002 to 2006 before discontinuing it due to slow sales. General Motors has long sold a similar model called the Holden Ute, which grafts a pickup bed onto the body of a sports car, in Australia.A BMW pickup concept based on the X3 also generated some buzz at the 2014 Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City last year.Hyundai did not commit to build the Santa Cruz. But the Korean brand sorely wants to broaden its lineup of crossovers and trucks beyond the Tucson compact and Santa Fe midsize crossovers to spur further growth in the U.S.Thin truck lineupHyundai’s U.S. sales increased by 1 percent in 2014, slower than the growth of the overall market. Dave Zuchowski, the company’s U.S. CEO, today attributed that fact to Hyundai’s thin lineup of trucks and crossovers and said the company is keenly interested in moving into emerging segments. The Santa Cruz concept features a 2.0-liter diesel engine that puts out 190 hp and 300 pounds-feet of torque. Hyundai does not currently sell any models with diesel engines in the U.S.Its most unique feature may be the extendable bed, which pops out of the frame of the car. When extended, Hyundai says, the bed is nearly as long as that of a midsize pickup such as the Toyota Tacoma.

Hyundai eyes 'adventurers' with Santa Cruz concept

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