Hyundai, Ram Working on New Midsize Pickup Entries

The midsize pickup segment is enjoying a boom right now. The Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon, Ford Ranger, Nissan Frontier and Jeep Gladiator are all fighting hard for the attention of consumers looking for a rugged and versatile vehicle. Let’s not forget the Honda Ridgeline, although this one has more limited capabilities, mostly due to its unibody construction.

Other contenders will be entering the ring over the next few years, including one that may surprise you. Are you ready for a Korean midsize pickup?

That’s right: while detailing the automaker’s medium- to long-term growth plan last month, Hyundai CEO José Muñoz announced that a first midsize pickup for North America will launch by 2030. The company will draw on its expertise acquired since the launch of the compact-sized Santa Cruz in 2021.

Unlike the latter, Hyundai’s new truck will use a body-on-frame architecture developed in-house and possibly even spawn an SUV. It remains to be seen whether a four- or six-cylinder engine will reside under the hood. Chances are that a hybrid option will be available.

By the way, Hyundai signed a Memorandum of Understanding with General Motors in 2024, but that has nothing to do with it. The Hyundai-GM alliance is expected to include five co-developed vehicles launching as early as 2028—electric commercial vans for the North American market, as well as compact vehicles, compact SUVs, and compact and midsize trucks for Central and South America.

A Familiar Nameplate May Return

Meanwhile at Ram, one of the most anticipated vehicles in a long time is no longer a rumour. Indeed, Ram’s new midsize pickup for the North American market will finally land in 2027, as Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa announced at a conference in September.

Will it be called Dakota like its predecessor from about 15 years ago? That would make perfect sense, don’t you think?

Filosa claims he recently saw sketches, designs and even a clay model of the future pickup at the automaker’s design centre in Detroit. “And it’s beautiful,” he added, inviting journalists and investors to come see it for themselves, too—”without cellphones or cameras,” of course.

The new vehicle will not only fill a big gap in Ram’s lineup, but it will also attract buyers who find the full-size Ram 1500 too expensive, especially since the discontinuation of the Ram 1500 Classic. Expect a body-on-frame pickup with larger dimensions and stronger performance than the new Ram Dakota that’s been announced for the South American market with production in Argentina to start in late 2025.

Our Dakota (assuming that’s the name) will be manufactured in the U.S., possibly at the Belvidere, Illinois plant that’s been on hold since the discontinuation of the old Jeep Cherokee (the new one will be assembled in Mexico). Then again, Ram could decide to build it alongside the Jeep Gladiator in Toledo, Ohio to save money. We’ll have to wait and see.