Seemingly out of nowhere, Hyundai and General Motors signed a Memorandum of Understanding in September. If the MoU evolves into an actual partnership, the two companies will jointly develop and build cars. A fresh report from South Korea alleges Hyundai might slap its badge on GM trucks and vice versa. According to the Pulse business newspaper, the two are also considering teaming up to engineer new trucks for Latin America.
As someone who grew up in a city where Daewoo used to make cars before it went bust in the 1990s, I can only hope things turn out better for the Hyundai-GM duo. The tie-up is still in its infancy since negotiations began only a few months ago. Pulse reports Chairman Euisun Chung traveled to the United States earlier this month to chat with GM CEO Mary Barra.
While GM is well-versed in pickup trucks, Hyundai only has the unibody Santa Cruz, the cabover Porter, and the body-on-frame Tasman through its sister brand Kia. If the report is accurate, the Asian brand could put its “H” badge on a Colorado, Silverado, Montana, Canyon, Sierra, etc. It’s unclear whether GM-based Hyundai trucks would be available in markets where the donor pickups sold by Chevy and GMC are already sold.
In the meantime, Pulse cites a Hyundai official saying that “during the latest meeting, the two leaders reviewed the progress made since the MoU was signed. We are exploring various areas for bilateral collaboration, ranging from vehicle development to future energy solutions.”
I certainly didn’t have GM-based Hyundai trucks on my bingo card but given the difficulties the automotive industry is facing, it makes sense that more and more automakers are willing to team up. Doing so allows them to speed up the development of new products while cutting costs. In theory, this is a win-win situation, but history has taught us things don’t always go as the parties involved had hoped.
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