- Boulder SUV concept previews Hyundai’s first body-on-frame truck.
- Production pickup due by 2030 with SUV version likely following.
- Designed and built in America to target hardcore truck buyers.
Hyundai has already won over thousands of American drivers with its Ioniq 5 EV, but now it wants to charm an entirely different demographic. The Korean automaker revealed the tough-looking Boulder at this week’s New York Auto Show, a rugged SUV concept that teases the brand’s first-ever body-on-frame utility.
Looking like it wouldn’t skip leg day even if it was in a coma, the Boulder rides on massive 37-inch tires stuffed under the wheelarch equivalent of a gym rat’s too-tight T-shirt. The concept also packs in useful ideas, like a flexible tailgate, roof storage solutions, and safari-style roof windows for better visibility on the trail.
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Hyundai says the look is inspired by its Art of Steel philosophy, which translates to bold surfaces and strong shapes. But it’s hard not to see a mishmash of other off-road heroes like the Ford Bronco, Jeep Wrangler, and Land Rover Defender in there. Under the skin is a ladder chassis from the production Hyundai pickup coming by 2030.
Just As Tough On The Inside
Inside, things stay refreshingly practical, though with a luxury spin. You get physical buttons and knobs, and four mini displays instead of burying everything in one giant screen, plus durable materials designed to handle actual use. It’s the kind of interior that suggests Hyundai knows this thing isn’t just for school runs and grocery store trips.
The bigger story is what this means for Hyundai’s future. The company is going all in on a truck built specifically for the American market. That means designing, engineering, and building them in the US using locally sourced steel, rather than adapting something from elsewhere. Even leaving tariffs aside, that kind of thing matters when you’re trying to steal patriotic American drivers away from domestic brands.
“Body-on-frame vehicles are the backbone of American work and adventure, and we intend to compete in the midsize pickup segment with everything we have,” CEO José Muñoz said. “We’re not taking this lightly.”
Lessons From Santa Cruz
It’s a bold move in a fiercely loyal segment, and breaking in won’t be easy for Hyundai, whose compact Santa Cruz unibody pickup has flopped. But Toyota managed it with the Tacoma, and if the production truck – and an SUV brother this concept surely points to – looks anywhere near as imposing as the Boulder, you’d have to rate its chances as good.
The midsize truck is big news in every sense for Hyundai, but it’s far from the only fresh product the automaker will roll out between now and the end of the decade. It promises 36 new or refreshed Hyundai vehicles over the next five years and 22 from Genesis in the same time frame.
