Hyundai Santa Cruz Could End Production This Year
Goodbye Santa Cruz; hello upcoming body-on-frame truck.
Add the Hyundai Santa Cruz to the growing list of vehicles set to die in 2026, if a report is to be believed. According to Automotive News, sources say Hyundai's Tucson-based pickup will wrap up production later this year, roughly a full year before originally planned.
The Santa Cruz has long been a bit player in Hyundai's yearly sales figures. Sales hovered in the mid-30,000s for its first few full years on the market but dropped to 25,499 last year, despite a mid-cycle refresh. The word is that continued weak demand has moved the chop forward; according to AN, Hyundai US dealers ended 2025 with almost half a year's worth of Santa Cruz stock.
AutoGuide reached out to Hyundai for comment and a company spokesperson neither confirmed nor denied the early cancellation:
“The Santa Cruz Sport Adventure Vehicle continues to be a valued ongoing member of the Hyundai product portfolio. As with all Hyundai vehicles, long-range product portfolio planning is guided by many factors including consumer demand and overall market trends. We don’t comment on future product speculation.
"Since its launch in 2021, our Santa Cruz sport adventure vehicle has successfully introduced Hyundai to a new type of U.S. consumer who values the capability, versatility, and rugged image of open-bed vehicles."
The statement continues, calling the Santa Cruz a "valued ongoing member" of the current Hyundai lineup, and adds that it gave the Korean company "valuable experience and visibility in the open-bed market." This in turn will lead to the brand's first body-on-frame truck, which will slot into the mid-size market and is confirmed to arrive in the USA before 2030. Hyundai head José Muñoz locked in this as-yet-unnamed Tacoma competitor at the brand's CEO Investor Day last September. Muñoz also hinted at a potential SUV derivative, which would conceivably line up against the Toyota 4Runner.
Should the report turn out to be true, the Santa Cruz will join the Acura RDX on the list of vehicles set to sunset this year. At least the good news is that, should you want one, it sounds like dealers have a whole lot to choose from.
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Our Take:
We liked the Santa Cruz well enough when it launched back in 2021, but the unfortunate reality for Hyundai is that it launched right as Ford was releasing the Maverick. The Blue Oval's pickup has always outsold the Santa Cruz, but was arguably targeting a broader slice of the market, not just with a lower initial starting price but with the sought-after hybrid powertrain. Way back at the 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 launch, a Hyundai engineer hinted to AutoGuide that a hybrid Santa Cruz was coming; if this report is true, that will never come to fruition.
While the Santa Cruz never matched the Maverick's sales figures, it was, in a certain wa,y a more honest vehicle: it was clearly a lifestyle option first and a pickup to do pickup things second. That it drove like a Tucson was fine: after all, the Tucson is one of the very best compact SUVs on the market—at least in hybrid form.
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Kyle began his automotive obsession before he even started school, courtesy of a remote control Porsche and various LEGO sets. He later studied advertising and graphic design at Humber College, which led him to writing about cars (both real and digital). He is now a proud member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), where he was the Journalist of the Year runner-up for 2021.
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I had a hybrid Maverick for about 10 months and it was a nice vehicle , I just purchased a Santa Cruz got a great price paid about 27000 for a SEL nicely equipped . I enjoy driving the Santa Cruz more, has more creature features good mpg about 30 average , about 38 in the Maverick ! The Santa Cruz is really a snazzy great looking vehicle , where as the Maverick quite bland ! Both trucks are small and just for smaller jobs overall the Santa Cruz is a much nicer version and still gets great mpg .
Dang, I liked the Santa Cruz. Kinda useless as a truck but the quirky looks hooked me.