If you cannot beat ’em, construct pickup vans to affix ’em. That is what Hyundai is doing with its Santa Cruz pickup truck, previewed in 2015 by an idea of the identical identify and confirmed on Wednesday for a debut on April 15.

The 2022 Santa Cruz might be constructed at Hyundai’s plant in Montgomery, Alabama, from this summer time, which means the primary examples ought to be in showrooms earlier than the yr is out.

Hyundai will spend $410 million in upgrades on the plant to assist the Santa Cruz and add 200 direct jobs within the course of. The flow-on impact at suppliers and logistics firms is anticipated so as to add an extra 1,000 jobs within the area.

The Montgomery plant is the place the Elantra, Sonata, Santa Fe and new 2022 Tucson are bolted collectively, with the Tucson specifically anticipated to lend its underpinnings to the Santa Cruz. This implies we’re taking a look at car-like unibody development (versus truck-like body-on-frame development). Honda does the identical for its Ridgeline pickup which is expounded to the Pilot crossover, and Ford additionally has a small, car-based pickup coming to be known as a Maverick.

A unibody platform for the Santa Cruz would come as little shock as Hyundai mentioned on the reveal of the Santa Cruz idea that the car wasn’t a substitute for conventional pickup vans, because it did not prioritize towing, payload, or floor clearance. Quite, Hyundai mentioned it needs to enchantment to crossover patrons who need the additional utility of a mattress with out having to go for a truck.

One side of the Santa Cruz idea that doubtless will not see manufacturing is the powertrain. The two.0-liter turbodiesel from the idea will doubtless be shelved because of the fallout of the emissions scandals that adopted the 2015 reveal. It is doable a diesel might be provided in different markets, like Hyundai does with the Santa Fe, although the automaker stays quiet on gross sales of the Santa Cruz exterior of the U.S.

We will anticipate naturally aspirated and turbo-4 engine choices together with a doable hybrid or plug-in hybrid powertrain in some unspecified time in the future, akin to these discovered within the 2022 Tucson. We will additionally affirm that all-wheel drive might be included, doubtless as commonplace.

Hyundai has seen its gross sales within the U.S. slide since a excessive of 768,057 models in 2016 as a consequence of a sedan-heavy lineup and the shortage of a pickup. The tally in 2020 was 622,269 models. The automaker is popping the ship round with new additions just like the Kona, Palisade and Venue crossovers, and now the Santa Cruz pickup.