Market trends convince Hyundai to launch pickup in U.S.

With sales of U.S. passenger sedans in a slump and SUVs, crossovers and pickups continuing to show gains, Korean automaker Hyundai apparently will bring its own light pickup entry stateside.

According to a Reuters report this week, Hyundai plans to develop a pickup truck for this market that will be "similar" to the company's 2015 Santa Cruz concept truck.

If so, it'd be a logical choice for the automaker, given the popularity that swirled around the Santa Cruz at the time. Unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in January 2015, the truck nabbed the Concept Truck of the Year award at the Concours d'Elegance of America later that year and generated a good amount of consumer fanfare.

Here's a look back at the Santa Cruz concept and some hardware and equipment details Hyundai provided. There's no word yet on when Hyundai's production truck would arrive, but given the state of the market and the OEM's flagging sedan sales, sooner rather than later could be the order of the day.

And that could also mean the production Hyundai pickup will carry over more elements of the concept Santa Cruz. Time will tell...