hyundai may get a truck?

[hjr]

should have posted this earlier. a week or two back, on thecarconnection(daily news) they had some Hyundai info(and Kia).
Basically, they mentioned tha Kia Large SUV , MESA, and it sounded as if it'll be built( a version of it will) next ,and Hyundai may have a truck here( maybe take that MEsa, and use the platform, and turn it into a truck, and Kia might also do the same?)....

It would be smart to do this.
Maybe make Kia's truck one design( 2 seater with jump seat, maybe Hyundais with seats for 4 daults, and short bed?). I dunno.

It did mention that Hyudnai is gonna launch a minivan next year or so, also.

[bgluckman]

The Kia Mesa is going into production next year sometime, but the vehicle probably won't look anything like the concept. There will be a pick-up truck spawned, but not until Kia builds a US factory here, probably in Alabama. And Hyundai dealers do want a version of that pick-up, which I think is the stupidest idea in a long, long time. There's a good possibility, however, that Hyundai may be back off that, however, and that only Kia will get the truck. We'll see.

[megadethmartyrdethmartyr]

Been a while since I have posted but I know Hyundai is shrugging off the idea of a truck. To ship one in would be too costly because of the taxes. And to build one here would require a new plant. Kia has been talking over their means lately as well. I HIGHLY doubt their truck will make it to production. It's just not practical.

[hjr]

from Wardsauto.com/pressreleases(this is a SUB article, so only gave a paragraph)..
Kia: U.S. Plant, Fullsize Pickup Still Urgent Needs
<sub>Feb 14, 2005, WardsAuto.com, By Christie Schweinsberg
DETROIT – Kia Motors America still wants a U.S. manufacturing plant and a fullsize body-on-frame pickup truck, but can’t say when either of these developments...

I got this when I did a Search for Kia, and then Hyundai news.

I can not recall if it was AW, detnews.com, or what site, but supposedly, during Detroit autoshow, Hyundai and kia reps mentioned a possibility of a truck(midsized) for 07.??</sub>

[megadethmartyrdethmartyr]

I just don't see either brand actually producing a truck. They watch what's going on in the market. Even though Toyota and Nissan sell a few trucks, it's still the domestic's market. Truck buyers are the most loyal of all buyers. If you don't believe me, find a hard core Chevy/Ford/Dodge truck driver and try and get him to drive a Nissan/Toyota. They will just laugh at you.

[bgluckman]

Truck buyers may be the most loyal of all buyers, but look how quickly Nissan has reached its goal of selling 100,000 Titans per year. And notice, too, that the Titan doesn't carry the massive rebates that the domestics do. Neither does the Tundra.

Breaking the truck market requires a little more patience than, say, selling a minivan, but it can be done. If Kia were to build a truck with the Titan and forthcoming Tundra as the benchmarks, they could easily reach a sales goal of 75,000 units/year within a three year period. From there, though, they'd have to commit to adding lots of derivatives (2500-series, work trucks, etc.) to keep pushing sales beyond that.

FYI, the 2500-series Titan will hit stores this time next year, and the next-generation Tundra (which is finally a "real" fullsize truck) will be launched in both 1500 and 2500-series trim.

[hjr]

www.detnews.com/2005/insiders/0502/28/D01-56217.htm

this is from jan...says Hyundai will have a minivan here in Nov, and is considering a truck.

[megadethmartyrdethmartyr]

The van could be pushed back until next year, but is most definately on the way. Still wouldn't bet on a truck. THe automotive press guesses alot, and they are usually wrong.

[Brian Gluckman]

The minivan (EP) is on schedule for November--it is in no danger of being pushed back.

As for the truck, it has now been reported that Hyundai is going to handle development with International, similar to how Nissan and Dodge are teamed up with Cummins.