Will Hyundai Follow Kia With UK Van Launch in 2026?
Hyundai has raised speculation it could be considering a return to the UK commercial vehicle market after teasing the imminent unveiling of its ‘biggest EV yet’.
Set to make its official debut at the upcoming Brussels Motor Show (8-19 January), the announcement of the as-yet-unconfirmed model was accompanied by a close-cropped image that also gives precious little away.
Despite this, the smart money is understood to be on an electric version of the Hyundai Staria MPV being unveiled.
An unfamiliar name in the UK, the Staria is offered on mainland Europe in both passenger-going MPV configuration and as the Staria Load small-to-medium van.
While all signs point towards this being a full seven-seater when it does get its reveal, there is a good chance the technology will migrate to the cargo-version in the near future.
Indeed, any Staria EV would be based on an electric van platform that already exists, that being the Hyundai ST1. Only available in electric and in a small Luton box body style, the ST1 is also only on sale in Korea, but has a sister version in the Iveco eMoovy for European markets.
This model is set to form the basis of the Hyundai Staria EV MPV to give the firm an electric model with seven seats in its line-up, but it could easily morph into an entry for the growing electric van space.
The Hyundai Staria Cargo is already available on the continent and with sister company Kia enjoying positive publicity and critical acclaim with its recently launched PV5, it could entice its stablemate to try the same.
Nestling between the small and medium van classes, the Staria Cargo offers 4.9 cubic metres of load space, a 2500mm load length and payload of up to 1090kg with a 2.2-litre turbodiesel engine.
Hyundai has previously dabbled in the commercial vehicle market, most recently with the Hyundai iLoad. Based on the i800 people-carrier, the iLoad was available between 2009 and 2019.
