NEW YORK – Hyundai served notice to traditional pickup and SUV powers like Chevrolet, Ford, Jeep Ram and Toyota at the auto show here: The ambitious South Korean brand is coming for them.
Looming over every other vehicle on Hyundai’s expansive stand at the show, the Boulder SUV concept has off-road warriors like the Ford Bronco, Jeep Wrangler and Toyota 4Runner in its sights.
Under the SUV’s wildly flared fenders lies the platform for a midsize pickup that will be Hyundai’s first foray into the body-on-frame construction that dominates U.S. large and midsize pickup sales.
Key Hyundai Boulder concept features
Designed, developed and built in the U.S.A.
“The Boulder Concept demonstrates how Hyundai is seeking to give American customers more of what they want,” Hyundai CEO Jose Muñoz said. “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.”
That pickup — look for it on the road by 2029 — will be less flamboyant than the SUV concept, but it’s serious business: a challenge to midsize pickups like the Chevy Colorado, Ford Ranger and Toyota Tacoma — and a declaration that Hyundai’s going after fabulously profitable full-size pickups like the Ford F-150.
Hyundai will design, develop and build its body-on-frame vehicles in the United States.
Hyundai hasn’t announced this yet, but expect an off-road-focused SUV to follow the pickup into production.
Contact Mark Phelan: mmphelan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Hyundai unveils rugged Boulder SUV concept at New York auto show
Reporting by Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
