Could Rebadged GM Trucks Be Coming to Hyundai Showroom?
Partnerships are commonplace in the auto industry, especially now with development costs being so damn high. According to a new report from South Korean media Pulse, Hyundai is looking to grab a bigger share of the highly lucrative pickup market and introduce new models that are completely different from the Santa Cruz with the help of General Motors.
Back on September 12, the two automakers signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore future collaboration across key strategic areas, looking for ways to “leverage their complementary scale and strengths to reduce costs and bring a wider range of vehicles and technologies to customers faster.”
- Also: GM and Hyundai to Explore Collaboration on Vehicles, Tech, Supply Chain
- Also: 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz Shows Updated Looks, New Tech, XRT Model
More specifically, Hyundai and GM are mulling the co-development and production of passenger and commercial vehicles, internal combustion engines, as well as battery-electric and hydrogen technologies.
Pulse reported that Hyundai Motor chairman Euisun Chung met with GM chairman and CEO Mary Barra earlier this month. The main topic of discussion was apparently the joint development of pickup trucks. However, it claimed the partnership would more likely consist of re-badging one’s truck with the logo of the other and vice versa.
For example, the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon twins could share their platform, components and tech with a future Hyundai midsize pickup. Conversely, the Santa Cruz could spawn clones at Chevrolet and GMC, which currently don’t have small pickups.
Even more intriguing is the possibility of a Hyundai full-size truck directly derived from the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500. That being said, non-American manufacturers are never going to be major players in that segment. Just look at the Toyota Tundra or Nissan’s now-discontinued Titan.
It’s also too early to tell where these future Hyundai-GM products will be sold exactly. More information is inevitably going to surface in the coming months. We’ll keep you posted.
