The Santa Cruz is sailing into the sunset. Or put differently, Hyundai’s small U.S.-built pickup has reached the end of the road after only four years on the market. The Korean automaker has reportedly informed suppliers that production of the model will cease in the coming weeks, according to Automotive News.
Santa Cruz: Made in the USA
It should be noted that the unibody pickup is manufactured in Montgomery, Alabama. Last August, Hyundai halted exports to Canada, primarily due to retaliatory tariffs imposed by the Canadian government on vehicles imported from the U.S. Since then, no Santa Cruz pickups have been shipped to Canada, and the automaker hadn’t announced a resumption of activities.
Unlike other models that are also U.S.-made, the Santa Cruz is not assembled in any other factories globally. As a result, Hyundai didn’t have any avenue for resuming imports into Canada without getting hit hard by tariffs.
Another factor in the decision has to be the relatively poor sales performance of the Hyundai Santa Cruz, which was vastly outpaced by the Ford Maverick. Dealers currently have several months of inventory of the Santa Cruz on hand on average.
About the Santa Cruz
The Hyundai Santa Cruz was introduced for the 2022 model-year, with a mandate of competing versus the Honda Ridgeline. Shortly after its unveiling, Ford introduced the Maverick, a pickup that was even smaller, more versatile and more affordable.
Hyundai did give the model a mid-generation refresh for the 2025 model-year, which included the addition of an XRT trim to the lineup.
Not the end of the road for Hyundai pickups
Hyundai might be abandoning the Santa Cruz, but that doesn’t mean throwing in the towel when it comes to pickups. Indeed, according to the firm AutoForecast Solutions, as cited by Automotive News, Hyundai plans to start production of a mid-size pickup truck as early as the summer of 2029.