Chicken Tax, Customer Tax has Hyundai Trucking

[Hyundai NEWS]

There are currently six major automakers selling trucks to the masses here in the United States. They include General Motors, through its Chevrolet line; Ford; Chrysler, through Ram Trucks; Toyota; Honda, and Nissan. Reports are now coming in that Hyundai is looking to bring flatbeds to American shoppers.
Actually, Hyundai and partner/subsidiary Kia have looked into selling trucks here in the U.S. for years. High oil prices, though, and falling truck sales discouraged such attempts. Hyundai is once again actively researching a pickup to help, well, pick up sales. States Lee In-cheol, vice president of Hyundai international sales, “We are doing a good job in recent years without a pickup truck. A pickup truck is important, but it’s not a big priority for our company. But we have to consider how to respond. It is under study.”
According to Automotive News, one of the reasons Hyundai may be so keen to enter the truck market is the free-trade agreement between the U.S. and South Korea. In the agreement, the so-called “chicken tax,” which imposes a 25 percent tariff on light-duty trucks and minivans imported from foreign countries, will be phased out starting in 2021. Hyundai could then manufacture trucks profitably overseas and ship them to the states.
Another, simpler, reason is demand. Other countries, Lee says, are also asking for trucks from the Korean automaker. Hyundai is studying these other markets as wellto determine which one will receive the first trucks, if any.
Lee declined to provide any development plan or timeline for a Hyundai truck. In the U.S., the automaker currently sells vehicles in all major segments: subcompacts (Accent), compacts (Elantra, Veloster), full-size crossover SUV (Sante Fe), and premium and entry-level luxury autos (Genesis and Equus, respectively). The Hyundai Sonata competes very well in the highly competitive–and coveted–midsize sedan segment, holding its own against leaders Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.