Unveiled as a diesel powered concept at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit three years ago, the Santa Cruz will reportedly make use of a unibody platform like the Honda Ridgeline, and be limited to the lucrative North American market only.

Speaking to Britain’s Autocar, former Volkswagen Head of Design, Luc Donckerwolke, who replaced Peter Schreyeras Hyundai’s Chief Design Officer earlier this year, said that the Santa Cruz “is currently under development” and that “from my side [the design] it is finished, the process to put it into production is now under way”.

Despite apparent demand from markets such as Australia, recent sightings have suggested that Hyundai is working on two pick-ups, with the more workhorse focused, ladder-frame chassis underpinned version likely to be classified as the “world model” instead of the Santa Cruz.

At the same time, Donckerwolke also let slip that a Kia pick-up is under consideration, but that this model, which will likely be a re-skinned Santa Cruz with a different interior, is only expected to debut much later with the focus now being on the Telluride SUV that will touch down in North America next year