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Hyundai pickup truck sounding more likely

Hyundai looks poised to get into the pickup market, according to the latest report from Automotive News. The Korean automaker revealed the Santa Cruz concept at the Detroit Auto Show this past January, previewing a vehicle that combines the best attributes of a pickup truck with those of a small crossover – sort of like a Honda Ridgeline, but smaller. It's an idea whose time has come, says Hyundai's US chief Dave Zuchowski. "We're assuming that it's going to get done," he told AN. "It's just not officially done yet." He expects it to be approved sometime within the next decade, and when it does enter production, Zuchowski said it could emerge as the first diesel-powered Hyundai offered in America. The biggest challenge, however, may not lie in convincing the head office in Seoul to give it the green light. The company's plant in Montgomery, AL, is strained enough producing the Sonata, Elantra and Santa Fe. In order to produce the pickup as well, Hyundai would need to either expand the current plant or build a new one.

Hyundai sales tank due to weak sales in China, Russia

Hyundai Motor's global volume dipped 13 percent in January to 338,035 deliveries. The drop is the automaker's first worldwide decline since July 2015, according to Bloomberg. The current slump of the once-booming Chinese market is especially hurting Hyundai's global volume, and a downturn in Russia also isn't helping the company's situation. Sales are down 1.1 percent in South Korea and 14 percent outside of the automaker's home market, according to Bloomberg. Hyundai expects the difficult situation to last much of the year. While Hyundai had a hard month internationally, the automaker's US division just reported its best January volume ever. The company delivered 45,011 vehicles, which was up one percent over 2015. The strong performance came in part from a 72-percent jump in Tucson volume and a 55-percent improvement for the Veloster. The company forecasts a strong year here in the States thanks to the introduction of the 2017 Elantra and an upcoming refresh for the Santa Fe. Hyundai already has a plan to build strength in the US and rebound elsewhere. For example, the company wants to capitalize on American's hunger for utility vehicles by adding capacity to build more of the Santa Fe Sport. It also intends to launch a B-segment CUV to challenge models like the Jeep Renegade, and the Genesis luxury sub-brand would eventually get an SUV, too. A cost-cutting strategy should help offset the downturn outside of this market. Related Video:

Driving a 1988 BMW M5 and the 2022 Volvo C40 Recharge | Autoblog Podcast #722

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. Some cars old and new here, with reviews of the 1988 BMW M5, 2022 Volvo C40 Recharge and 2021 Hyundai Palisade. In the news, Maserati revealed the 2023 Grecale SUV with a 523-hp twin-turbo V6. Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #722 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving 1988 BMW M5 2022 Volvo C40 Recharge Long-term 2021 Hyundai Palisade 2023 Maserati Grecale revealed Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: Volvo introduces 2022 C40 Recharge crossover