At a time when Mercedes-Benz and Fiat are withdrawing from the pickup truck sector, Kia-Hyundai – the world’s fourth-largest automotive manufacturer – is in the early development stage for its own one-tonne pickup.
Hyundai’s preview of a half-tonne pickup in 2017, the Santa Cruz (pictured above), received an ‘overwhelming’ response from the public, and officials have said that developing a pickup truck has been a priority for some time.
The time couldn’t be more right for Kia-Hyundai. Global pickup trucks sales have been growing steadily over the past 10 years,
The two newest comers to the market, however, performed poorly with neither breaking into the Top Five for sales, and it looks like they are both planning to cancel production of their models.
However, they failed for two completely different reasons. Fiat’s Fullback demise can be attributed to the small margins involved and poor brand perception, which is vital for pickup truck buyers. The Mercedes-Benz X-Class’s fate was largely sealed by its hefty price tag of almost £40,000 plus VAT and the fall-out with alliance partners Renault-Nissan.
But ultimately, they failed because they were shared products (i.e. based on a rival company’s vehicle) with little differentiation and, while this may work in other automotive sectors, truck buyers tend to be more aware and look for the best value option.
It’s unlikely the South Korean manufacturer will suffer from the same problems. Kia-Hyundai has the economies of scale behind them and therefore will be developing this product in-house, build them at their own factory and it will be based on an ‘all-new’ chassis.
“Work has begun,” explained Kia Australia’s chief operating officer, Damien Meredith. “We’re talking about a dual-cab, a single-cab – what we’ve requested is the full gambit for the ute [pickup truck], and that includes a dual-cab with diesel and petrol.”
Kia is confident the new one-tonne pickup truck, which is due in 2022, will be a hit with the punters with Meredith remarking that it will be a “great product, great pricing and a seven-year warranty – it’s a pretty powerful package.”
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I can’t see this making a big impact in what is already a very competitive market that includes the Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux and the Amarok. The Fiat Fullback has been stopped because they couldn’t sell them now dealers are stuck with the stock.