Pickup Hyundai Santa Cruz 2021: All We Know <span data-mce-="" type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline- block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span> The new truck will be available for purchase sometime in the next year. Do you remember the Hyundai Santa Cruz original concept? It’s a good idea. The pickup impressed crowds at the Detroit Auto Show in early 2015, and promised a production version soon. Five years later, you can’t still buy one. 2021 is the year that will change all of this. We have been reporting on rumors, leaks and other details about the Hyundai Santa Cruz pickup. We even believe it could debut as soon as this year. These are the details about the Hyundai Santa Cruz that you should know. There is a lot to indicate that the production truck will retain the name “Santa Cruz”. It makes sense that Hyundai has filed a trademark with U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in August. Santa Cruz would fit in well between other nameplates such as Santa Fe and Tucson (all named after cities/places within the U.S.). Although the production Santa Cruz will be slightly different from the 2015 model, we expect the brand to continue using its latest grille design and headlight treatment that were used on older models such as the Venue, Palisade and Palisade. This rendering shows the production Santa Cruz with some current cues. However, the leaked image of the truck’s naked body shows that some key features from the original concept, such as the C-pillar with a short bed and sloping top, have been retained. These spy shots of a truck give an idea about its overall size and shape. It’s clear that the original design’s overall shape will be preserved in some way on the production version. These spy shots give us a look at Santa Cruz’s 10-spoke wheels which appear production-ready. The Santa Cruz standard will likely borrow one of Hyundai’s gas engines. It could be a turbocharged 2.5-liter four cylinder or the Palisade’s 3.8-liter V6. The V6 can produce up to 291 horsepower. However, Hyundai may offer a turbocharged 3.0-liter diesel engine (good for 278 horsepower) in addition to the gas engine. This engine will not be available in the U.S. Hyundai however plans to make the diesel engine available for commercial use in other countries. The Santa Cruz will be available with both front-wheel drive standard, as well as all-wheel drive. Maybe. Perhaps. In an interview with Which Car, John Kett, Hyundai Australia CEO stated that “it’s clear to me that if it’s going to bring out a ute out,” he said. We’ve cleared the first hurdle, but it still needs to be functional. This is the most important part. We haven’t seen any reports corroboratifying that interview since. The Hyundai Santa Cruz body-on-frame and unibody will not be confirmed until the actual debut. The Santa Cruz pickup will be built by Hyundai at its Montgomery, Alabama assembly facility, starting in 2021. Byungjin Jin (president and CEO of Hyundai Motor Manufacturing AL) announced that the Santa Cruz will be built in the United States in November. He said: “Bringing Santa Cruz to HMMA shows that Hyundai Motor Company’s more than 3,000 Team members are ready to construct a high-quality crossover for the U.S. Market.” Hyundai should cover the Santa Cruz sometime in the coming year. Production is expected to begin early 2021. If it is still possible, the Los Angeles Auto Show could be the place where the truck will make its debut. We expect the truck to make its virtual debut at around the same time.