Kia Confirms New Compact Crossover For U.S. Market, "Maybe Small Pickup Truck"

[SeoulStinger]

According to Han-Woo Park, the South Korean automaker expects to take more market share in the United States with the help of a compact crossover. The chief executive officer told Automotive News the newcomer would arrive in the second half of the year, right after the Telluride starts production.

?After those launches, Kia will consider other light-truck entries,? according to Park, ?and maybe a small pickup.? Hyundai is working on the Santa Cruz for the U.S. market - unibody construction and everything - and we have a sneaking suspicion that Kia will use the underpinnings for its own truck.

The Palisade, for example, shares the platform, engine, and transmission with the Telluride. And just like the Kia, this model has been confirmed with seating for eight people. The thing with the Palisade is that Hyundai will manufacture it in South Korea, not Georgia like Kia with the Telluride.

Turning our attention back to the Santa Cruz, Hyundai is expected to build it ?on the same platform as the next-generation Tucson.? Expected to go official in South Korea in 2020, the compact crossover would then welcome the pickup truck ?as early as 2021? according to Won-hee Lee, chief executive officer of Hyundai Motor Co.

The Santa Cruz is in the ?basic R&D stage? at the time of writing, and production would be underway in ?about 32 months? if the newcomer gets the green light from the higher-ups in South Korea. Considering that Honda is alone in the segment with the Ridgeline, Hyundai has to deliver on its promise if it wants to steal some sales from the Japanese brand.

The crossover is understood to bear the name Tusker in India, where it will be manufactured at a $1.1-billion assembly plant in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh. The North American sibling would be sourced from South Korea, and for this market, Kia is understood to choose anything between Trazor and Trailster.

?But wait, doesn?t Kia have the Sportage in the compact crossover segment already?? You?re right, dearest reader! So in the meantime, here's hope the mystery model looks better than the Stonic.
https://www.autoevolution.com/news/...s-market-maybe-small-pickup-truck-129756.html

 

[MurlinatoR]

It will be called the Trailster and will be between the Soul and the Sportage.

 

[Pavel]

It will be called the Trailster and will be between the Soul and the Sportage.

I thought the Trailster was a Kia Soul concept from a few years back

 

[MurlinatoR]

It was. They didn't want to mess with the Soul so they're going to slot a separate car into that name.

 

[SeoulStinger]

It will be called the Trailster and will be between the Soul and the Sportage.

I actually like that name.

 

[MurlinatoR]