- Santa Cruz production is ending early after weak sales led to bloated inventory.
- Ford Maverick crushed it in sales, snaring most budget-focused truck shoppers.
- Hyundai now plans a larger body-on-frame pickup for American truck buyers.
Hyundai’s compact truck experiment is over. After just one generation, the Santa Cruz pickup is reportedly being phased out sooner than planned because buyers largely shrugged and walked past it to rival dealerships instead.
The idea sounded great on paper. Take a comfy crossover, graft on a small bed, and sell it to outdoorsy types who own more kayaks than power tools. But reality hit hard.
More: Hyundai Thinks Outside The Box For 2027 Santa Fe
The Santa Cruz struggled to find a clear identity, landing somewhere between lifestyle toy and actual truck, without fully satisfying fans of either. Even the introduction of a rugged XRT model for 2024 didn’t really help.
Meanwhile, the Ford Maverick, aided by having a hybrid option that the Santa Cruz doesn’t offer, quietly ate its lunch. And dinner. And probably dessert too. The smallest Blue Oval truck racked up 155,000 registrations last year, 18 percent more than in 2024. In the same period, Santa Cruz sales fell 20 percent to just 25,500.
Early Retirement
Dealers reportedly ended up with months of unsold Santa Cruz inventory sitting on lots, which is never a great sign. According to Auto News, Hyundai responded by cutting production “by roughly half this quarter” and is now preparing to wind it down entirely ahead of the original Q2 2027 target, though no exact date has been confirmed.
The report cites sources close to the matter, including company suppliers and individuals briefed on internal discussions.
That production shift will free up factory space in Alabama for more Tucsons, which people are actually lining up to buy. Tucson sales jumped almost 14 percent to 234,000 last year.
If You Don’t Succeed
Still, Hyundai is not giving up on pickups. Instead, it seems to be admitting that Americans want something bigger, tougher, and more traditional.
More: Hyundai Boss Says New Midsize Pickup Will Blow Your Mind
The company has already confirmed that it’s working on a new midsize truck, with a US launch targeted for 2029. Unlike the crossover-based Santa Cruz, this upcoming model will adopt rugged body-on-frame construction, aimed squarely at heavy hitters like the Toyota Tacoma and Ford Ranger. It will not be related to Kia’s fugly Tasman.
CEO José Muñoz has even hinted that a rugged, off-road SUV could be added to the lineup, built on the same pickup platform to compete with the Toyota 4Runner and Ford Bronco.
That shift upwards makes sense. Real trucks still dominate the US market, and buyers often want towing, payload, and rugged vibes over clever design flourishes. Bigger trucks also deliver bigger margins for automakers. The question is whether round two will finally land a punch.
