NEW YORK — Off-road parks are gonna get crowded.

Hyundai stunned the New York Auto Show this week with its brawny Boulder SUV concept. It’s the first body-on-frame, truck-based SUV from the South Korean brand, going after Detroit icons Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco in the off-road space.

With General Motors Co. taking a pass on the affordable, mid-size, off-road SUV space to make the Chevrolet Blazer and six-figure GMC Hummer SUV electric vehicles, Asian makers have rushed in. Toyota has added body-on-frame competitors like the Land Cruiser and Lexus GX in the space where they already sold the popular 4Runner, and now here comes Hyundai which will also offer a U.S.-made pickup on the same platform by 2030.

“GM missed an opportunity,” said auto analyst and Telemetry Vice President of Market Research Sam Abuelsamid at the Hyundai unveiling. “Especially when they decided to relaunch the Hummer brand as an EV. Now, they don't have anything to compete against the Asians or Bronco, Wrangler.”

Hyundai has been on a sales tear in the United States, moving up to the fifth best-selling brand after Toyota, Ford, Chevrolet, and Honda with the second-fastest growth in 2025 (7.8%) after Toyota’s 8.1%.

Asian automakers have had an eye on the profit-rich truck space where U.S. automakers dominate — but have struggled to be relevant.

Toyota is a distant fifth behind the Ford F-series, Chevy/GMC trucks, and Ram pickups in the 2.4-million-unit full-size segment with just 147,610 sales in 2025 in part because its doesn’t offer heavy duty versions of its Texas-made Tundra truck. The Japanese maker has been more successful with its mid-sized, ladder frame-based Tacoma pickup and 4Runner, Land Cruiser SUVs.

Hyundai, like Honda, has tried to compete in the mid-size pickup segment with the unibody-based Santa Cruz — based on the same chassis as its family SUVs.

The Santa Cruz has struggled against the ladder-frame, stump-pulling Detroit icons, however, and was last in segment in 2025 with just 25,499 sales. The unibody pickup will be discontinued after this model year.

Which opens Hyundai’s Alabama and Georgia factories for an all-new, ladder-frame platform. First up, the Boulder Concept (itself based on the Crater Concept seen in Los Angeles last fall) to be followed by a pickup concept at a later date. Expect Boulder production for the 2028 model year.

“The Boulder Concept’s stout, ladder-frame-style construction has long been favored by U.S. consumers seeking trucks and SUVs capable of serious off-roading, towing, and hauling,” admitted Hyundai in a press release. The Boulder and pickup will also be designed in the United States with steel coming from a new Hyundai Steel (a Hyundai subsidiary) plant in Louisiana.

The Hyundai’s so-called “Art of Steel” design language also echoes that of the successful Bronco with a square jaw, boxy proportions, swollen fenders and huge, 37-inch all-terrain tires.

"The Boulder Concept demonstrates how Hyundai is seeking to give American customers more of what they want,” said Hyundai CEO José Muñoz, who introduced the SUV. “Body-on-frame vehicles are the backbone of American work and adventure, and we intend to compete in the midsize pickup segment with everything we have. We are entering segments we have never competed in before, and we are doing it the right way: designed in America, built by Americans for American customers.”

True to American tastes, the Boulder Concept boasts a tailgate-mounted spare tire, power-drop rear window, aggressive approach-and-departure angles, and tow hooks.

“I think the Boulder Concept is really significant,” said analyst Abuelsamid. “Wrangler, Bronco, and Toyota Forerunner are the three leaders in that segment and it’s an obvious place for Hyundai to expand their lineup. There's a lot of interest in these types of vehicles and Boulder is a really interesting design.”

Mid-size off-roaders are typically motivated by V-6 and turbo-4 cylinder engines in order to reach the far corners of national parks.

“We could see a mix of internal combustions in Boulder — maybe their E-REV hybrid power train could find a home in a vehicle like this,” speculated Abuelsamid.

Said Tom Zielinski, CEO of Detroit 4fest that takes over Holly Oaks ORV park north of Detroit every fall: "Americans are adventurous at heart and there is no better place to experience adventure than off-road. Auto companies are building amazing vehicles that come equipped to take you anywhere. Jeep Wrangler is a legend in this space and Ford Bronco has been a success so it is no surprise that Hyundai would bring a competitor to market. "

The interior of the Boulder matches the exterior's rugged ambitions with strong character lines and big knobs to adjust climate and volume. It also features trendy bits like movable screens that are unlikely to survive for production.

“Our body-on-frame Boulder Concept SUV is a four-wheeled love letter to the dynamic, off-road way of life that many customers have been asking us for in our future-focused research,” said Hyundai Design chief SangYup Lee. “We are confident that something like this ultra-capable Hyundai SUV concept could more than fulfill the needs of this exclusive group of adventure seekers.”

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