NEW YORK — Hyundai’s (005380.KS) Randy Parker calls it “six for six.”
Five consecutive years of record US retail sales are apparently not enough for Hyundai’s North America CEO — he wants a sixth. And if the reaction to what the company unveiled at the New York International Auto Show this week is any indication, he may just get it.
The surprise of the show was the Boulder concept, a rugged, body-on-frame SUV with 37-inch off-road tires, a solid rear axle, a flexible tailgate, and a design language Hyundai calls “Art of Steel.” For a brand long associated with efficient sedans and crossovers, it’s a striking statement — and a deliberate one.
It also has a striking resemblance to Ford’s Bronco, which Parker didn’t deny. But the Boulder is about other future vehicles too.
“This is a nice teaser of what the future might look like,” Parker said to Yahoo Finance from the Hyundai stand. “Body-on-frame is a new segment that we’re going to be entering in the next several years.”
Hyundai says its body-on-frame plans start with a midsize pickup truck, due by 2030, that will be built in the US using steel from a new Hyundai plant in Louisiana.
It is one of 36 new Hyundai vehicles planned for North America this decade.
Parker was candid about what prompted the move into a segment historically dominated by Ford, GM, and Stellantis’ Ram brand. “The customers are telling us they want more,” he said. “And that’s one of the reasons why we decided to go into body-on-frame pickup trucks.”
Getting there, however, requires navigating a tough landscape.
Tariffs, affordability pressures, and a volatile supply chain are bearing down on the entire industry all at once. Parker and Hyundai believe the solution is localization.
Hyundai’s Metaplant America facility in Savannah, Ga., is a $12.6 billion US investment. Phase one of that investment will be capable of producing 300,000 vehicles annually, with phase two targeting 500,000 by 2030. The campus will support 8,700 manufacturing jobs.
“The best way to alleviate tariffs is to localize production,” Parker said. “By 2030, we want to have at least 80% of our production localized.”
Currently, the Georgia plant runs 100% electric vehicles — including the IONIQ 5, which Parker says is up significantly year over year in Q1 sales despite the loss of the federal EV tax credit. Hybrids are also up, and Hyundai is moving quickly to bring hybrid production to the Georgia facility as well, broadening the plant’s role in the brand’s multi-powertrain strategy.