The hardcore Hyundai crater The concept was revealed in sketch form ahead of its world premiere at AutoMobility LA 2025 in Los Angeles this Thursday (4:45am AEDT on November 21).
The South Korean brand describes the Crater as an “extreme off-road show vehicle” and says it is “a compact off-road SUV show vehicle that embodies performance and ruggedness” and a “design expedition that captures the spirit of adventure.”
“Inspired by extreme environments, the Crater Concept was conceived at the Hyundai America Technical Center (HATCI) in Irvine, California, and is designed to reinforce the same spirit and robustness found in Hyundai’s XRT production vehicles.”
Hyundai’s XRT vehicles are more off-road capable, ruggedly designed versions of its SUVs, including the Ioniq 5 and Palisade and the Santa Cruz ute.
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No further details have been revealed about the concept, which is clearly a rugged off-road vehicle in Hyundai’s new Pixel Design design.
However, Hyundai has made no secret of its desire to compete with the best-selling Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux by offering its first dual-cab model, and it’s possible that the Crater foreshadows a possible SUV version.
Speaking at Hyundai’s recent investor day, the company’s global boss, José Muñoz, confirmed that the brand’s first pickup truck would be launched in North America before 2030, while announcing on a slide: “Expanding the pickup truck portfolio and broadening the customer base, with potential for body-on-frame SUV variants.”
That suggests the Hyundai ute will launch first, and it could be followed by a closely related SUV version – just as the Everest is based on the Ranger, the Isuzu MU-X is based on the D-Max and the Toyota Fortuner is based on (but not replacing) the previous HiLux.
The Korean auto giant’s first ute is expected to be based on the Kia Tasman, which Kia itself has said could spawn an off-road SUV if there is enough demand, but Hyundai has made it clear that it will not simply be a facelifted version of the controversial dual-cab model just to speed up production of the vehicle.
“I’m not leaving until I have a ute, and not just any ute. I mean, we could just take another platform and just go out and rename it, and that’s just not acceptable, especially now,” Hyundai Motor Company Australia president and CEO Don Romano said at a recent media event for the new Palisade.
Mr Romano, who was appointed Hyundai boss for Australia earlier this year, said in May the company would finalize plans for a new car by the end of this year.
A dedicated electrical device was previously confirmed to be under development and trademark applications for the nameplates were filed Ioniq T7 And Ioniq T10 surfaced last year, but Mr Romano suggested it would be sold alongside a traditional double-cab vehicle in Australia.
“Whether we go for an electric car would not be my preference, but I would take it, and that is something that is already in development,” Mr. Romano said in May.
“We have to find the common denominator that works for both Australia and the world. So there will be a compromise – that compromise could be a diesel, could be a hybrid, it could be a plug-in hybrid.”
“What I think we need is something that competes with the numbers one and two in the market and they are dominant players,” he added, referring to the Ranger and HiLux.
“That’s what (midsize, body on frame) sells here, that’s what customers want. I think every major manufacturer has one and I don’t think you can be a viable brand without one.”
“There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the body of the (Kia) Tasman on frame – it’s great infrastructure to build on. I have concerns about the diesel, although I would go for a diesel in the short term if I knew the development was going in a different direction.”
In August, Mr Romano suggested there was no new submarine planned for Australia this year, citing a decline in overall submarine sales that could delay development.
He said there was “wiggle room” in the schedule for the new ute to arrive in Australia by 2029, as originally planned.
Hyundai is also developing a pickup truck with General Motors that appears to be different from the ladder-frame Ranger competitor that the company will sell in the U.S. by 2030. Mr Romano didn’t rule it out for Australia either, but said he would prefer a pickup truck to come from Korea.
A new Ranger rival for Latin America will be one of the first five models that Hyundai and GM will co-develop under a partnership launched in September 2024, and it is expected to feature diesel power.
Hyundai’s North American ute is more likely to be powered by petrol, hybrid or plug-in hybrid powertrains, which are also more likely candidates for any potential SUV version.
Hyundai already sells a ute in the US (the Tucson-based crew-cab Santa Cruz “Lifestyle”, built exclusively in left-hand drive), but it has a less robust monocoque platform – like all of the Hyundai/Kia group’s large SUVs, including the Santa Fe/Sorento and Palisade/Telluride.
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