Last year, Hyundai Group and General Motors (GM), announced a partnership for, among other nice things, the joint manufacturing of vehicles intended for different markets around the world.
At that time, there was talk North America would get an electric van out of that arrangement, as well as a Hyundai-badged pickup truck to be based on the Chevrolet Colorado.
This week, the two manufacturers finally gave more details about their plan, confirming plans for the all-electric van for our market.
Five vehicles
The two companies are currently working on five vehicles, in fact. One for us leaves four for other markets, of course. And it appears those markets are Central and South America. There will be an SUV, a car and a pickup, all in compact format, as well as a mid-size truck. The four will be offered with hybrid powertrains and 100-percent gas-powered powertrains. Launch of all of the models is planned for 2028.
The van
Obviously, what interests us is the model that will be offered in North America. The electric van will be built in the U.S. starting in 2028, though no details have been provided about it – other than that it will be smaller than the BrightDrop 400 and 600 models currently offered under the Chevrolet banner.
We could well see the new model take aspects of models Hyundai offers worldwide, or of the PV5 van soon to be launched by Kia. That model was unveiled at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas in 2024 and has been touring auto shows since.
Ambitious goals
Once production is underway, Hyundai and GM aim to sell more than 800,000 vehicles per year together. GM will be responsible for the work on the midsize pickup truck platform, with Hyundai in charge of the compact vehicles and electric vans.
To each their own expertise.
Note that each company promises distinctive interior and exterior designs.