Hyundai ute: “be patient” says local boss

A battery-electric Hyundai ute now appears more likely to be sold in Australia than the petrol-powered Santa Cruz dual-cab.

But while in-house rival Kia charges on with development of its diesel-powered ladder-frame Tasman, which has been confirmed for Australian release in 2025 and will be joined by an EV version in 2026, Hyundai Australia’s ute situation remains murky.

Quizzed extensively on the prospects of Hyundai Australia’s first ute at last week’s media launch of the new-generation Kona compact SUV, company COO John Kett asked for patience.

“Just be patient right? Let’s be patient and see how it resolves itself,” he said.

“Maybe over the next 12 months we’ll be able to say definitely say one way or the other.”

While there’s been some optimism about Santa Cruz (pictured) in the past, Kett was most definitive in playing down the prospects of the ‘lifestyle’ ute for Australia.

It is built and sold in North America, based on a monocoque chassis and offered only with petrol powertrains.

He pointed to forthcoming Australian federal emission standards as an impediment and pushed back against suggestions he had told Hyundai dealers the Santa Cruz was coming here.

“Specifically on Santa Cruz I don’t think we said we would get it.

“I think our answer has to be our hand is always up,” he added. “But I think fuel-efficiency standards are going to impact on any existing ICE programs that we want to get in to.

“We just can’t talk about it. I know it’s awkward and the less we talk about it the more momentum happens internally so just be patient.

“We don’t want to talk about ute, but we know one day it will be resolve one way or the other.”

With a Hyundai version of the Tasman diesel either years away or off the table, the prospect of a Hyundai EV ute looks likelier.

At its annual Investor Day in June, the Hyundai Motor Company (also including Kia and Genesis) announced plans for a new-generation EV architecture that would allow the development of a ute.

However, while it was stated that the Hyundai (and Genesis) brands would produce nine models by 2030 from the new Integrated Modular Architecture (IMA), it was not specified if a ute was amongst them.

Kett did say Hyundai Australia had its hands up for every IMA program.

“What was presented on Investor Day around the platforms that Hyundai is developing and what was said on that day that suggested the product programs that could come from those platforms we would say we have both hands up in making sure we access that,” he said.

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