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NEWS
Hyundai eyes full-size SUV market
Hyundai would be “foolish” if it wasn't looking at vehicles bigger than Santa Fe, says designer chiefHyundai USA design studio chief, Chris Chapman, says the company would be “foolish” if it wasn’t looking at vehicles to compete head-on with full-size ‘utility’ vehicles from established USA nameplates and other brands.
But, cautioned the ex-BMW exec, the answer may not be a conventional full-size truck or SUV.
Speaking at the unveiling of Hyundai’s second-generation Genesis luxury sedan at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, Chapman seemed to suggest to motoring.com.au that full-sized pick-ups and the vehicles built from them (Eg: Chevrolet’s Suburban and Ford’s Excursion) were almost off-limits for the Korean company. He stated, however, that the size of the marketplace demanded the segment be considered.
“The full-sized [SUV and pick-up] is something that’s a very, very touchy thing when it comes to this North American market. It’s a huge pie and without it, folks like Ford and Chevy, well, they don’t even exist, you know...
“But I guess [despite this] that it would be foolish for us not to look at all the ‘boxes’ that are empty in our matrix and say, ‘Well what about this and what about that?’ And we are doing that,” Chapman stated. In North America, Hyundai sells a long-wheelbase version of the Santa Fe (pictured), which replaced the previous Veracruz – the earlier SUV also known as the ix55 in other markets.
According to Chapman, questions regarding Hyundai’s potential entry into the US truck market is top of most auto media’s agenda.
“Everybody asks that question [Hyundai’s full-size pick-up plans],” he told motoring.com.au.
“[But] You’re looking at a truck guy... I would love for Hyundai to do that and stuff... [But] we’re on such a fast curve right now that we need to make sure that we watch that...
“When it comes to new products we’re not just too eager to just go out and grab another... You know... ‘Oh, they got a piece of that pie; we’re going to grab that one too. Oh yeah, and going to grab that one too.’
“As nice a design as the [Toyota] Tundra [full-size pick-up] is; as nice a design as the [Nissan] Titan was; you’re talking about a very, very difficult market to break through and pass off as sort of the ‘Americana’ kind of thing.
“So I think Hyundai is [going to be] real careful,” Chapman warned.
Chapman joined Hyundai in 2012, prior to that he was with BMW Group at DesignworksUSA. There he worked on a number of products for the German marque including the X3 and X5.
He would not comment directly on Hyundai’s plans for the segment but did cite factors that could point to developments by the Korean brand.
“For us in design, you know, it’s all about proportion. So we’re always fighting the height of the vehicle, you know. And especially with all the safety regulations, rollover crash testing, airbags and things like that.
“These cars [SUVs] keep getting higher and higher and higher. And then, especially with the advent of a third row, it always becomes a real challenge for designers to make something really beautiful and really sleek and proportionally acceptable.”
Chapman suggested the key to Hyundai’s future in the segment could be in a step-change in vehicle packaging.
“I think it [the full-size SUV discussion] should begin really with a clever way of how to deal with the third row.
“If you’re going to talk about a really large SUV, it’s going to have to be that the entry ticket is to have that third row. And I think it’s going to be a clever way [to package three rows]...
“You’re going to see some interesting engineering with regard to how to optimise the leg room, how to hide it away when you want the utility, etc, etc,” Chapman told motoring.com.au.
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Written byMike Sinclair
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