Hyundai is preparing to launch its first body-on-frame vehicle, a midsize pickup truck. The rugged Boulder Concept SUV is a preview, but a new patent offers a sneak peek at the battery and chassis setup.
Hyundai patents body-on-frame EV setup
Hyundai is giving people what they want: body-on-frame vehicles powered by electric motors for serious off-roading.
Unlike the Santa Cruz, which was Hyundai’s “first stab” at the US pickup market. The segment is currently dominated by Detroit’s Big Three: Ford, GM, and Stellantis, but Hyundai promises the upcoming midsize pickup will take it to the next level.
“Once you go body-on-frame, it pushes the boundaries well beyond Santa Cruz,” Hyundai Motor North America CEO Randy Parker told reporters at the NY Auto Show (via Automotive News) last month.
Hyundai introduced the Boulder Concept at the event, an SUV that previews its body-on-frame pickup. The rugged SUV looked production-ready with dual safari-style fixed upper windows, oversized 37″ mud-terrain tires, “generous ground clearance,” plus added tow hooks and a roof rack.
The concept is “a four-wheeled love letter to the dynamic, off-road way of life that many customers have been asking us for,” according to SangYup Lee, Head of Hyundai and Genesis Global Design Center.
While Hyundai didn’t reveal many details, like powertrain or battery specs, a new patent filed with the USPTO (US Patent and Trademark Office) offers a look at the body-on-frame chassis design.
The patent, “Battery Pack Mounting Structure for Vehicle,” released on May 5, 2026, describes how the battery pack integrates into the vehicle’s frame.
The battery pack mounting structure is specifically designed for a body-on-frame vehicle to protect the battery and maximize interior space with a frame side member forming a chassis frame that extends on both sides of the vehicle, a battery disposed to overlap inwardly, and a case surrounding the battery.
Hyundai’s body-on-frame chassis and battery pack structure are designed to lower the vehicle’s center of gravity for better control, while ensuring enough ground clearance to tackle any terrain.
We will have to wait to learn more about battery specs and further powertrain details closer to launch. The midsize body-on-frame pickup will be one of 36 new vehicles Hyundai will introduce in North America by 2030.
Hyundai will build the pickup in the US using steel sourced from its $5.8 billion steel plant in Louisiana. While it’s yet to be confirmed, Parker suggested the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America, where the IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 9 are built, is under consideration.
The upcoming body-on-frame vehicles are expected to be unpinned by a platform enabling purely electric (EV), hybrid (HEV), internal combustion engine (ICE), and extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) configurations.
Can Hyundai’s body-on-frame pickup compete with the Toyota Tacoma and Ford Ranger? While the SUV is just a “design study,” Hyundai said, it could go head-to-head with the Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco. Stay tuned for more details. We’ll keep you updated with the latest.
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