Hyundai and GM are reportedly hooking up to make a pickup truck together. If the rumors coming out of Korea are true, the two automakers will be jointly developing a pickup truck that will be sold in Latin America.
The report comes to us by way of Korean business site Pulse. Sources reportedly told Pulse that Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung met with GM CEO Mary Barra this month to discuss details. Apparently the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding in September 2024
“During the latest meeting, the two leaders reviewed the progress made since the MOU was signed,” a company official said.
“We are exploring various areas for bilateral collaboration, ranging from vehicle development to future energy solutions.”
While there are no specific details on the truck, sources say GM and Hyundai will jointly develop the truck and take a “badge engineering” approach to it. So while the truck will be developed by the two automakers, it’ll either be a GM badge job of a Hyundai model or vice versa. And while it’s also not known whether or not this truck will be brought to the U.S., it’s apparently being developed with Latin American markets in mind.
Pulse says the collaboration between GM and Hyundai is a pretty big deal, even in spite of worries and possible challenges surrounding President Trump’s tariff plan.
Experts note that collaboration with GM, a US company, is significant, given the ongoing concerns that foreign automakers in the US market could face challenges under the incoming Donald Trump administration. “Chung is making various efforts to incorporate a new management culture, moving away from the traditional Korean management style,” an auto industry insider noted.
We’ve reached out to both Hyundai and General Motors for a comment, and we’ll be sure to update this post when we get a response.
Update: While Hyundai has yet to respond, GM got back to us saying that there were several inaccuracies in what Pulse reported. “We have not signed definitive agreements with Hyundai on any projects. We have an memorandum of understanding to scope out areas of cooperation. Beyond that we really can’t comment on speculation.”
