Hyundai has not officially announced the Santa Cruz Lifestyle Ute yet, but every sign points to an imminent launch in the near future. The company may confirm the model any time, says Hyundai’s U.S. region CEO.

Speaking to the media at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show, Hyundai Motors President for America, Dave Zuchowski said that the Santa Cruz utility model might hit dealership stores soon. However, he added that it is not possible to officially confirm the launch when there is no announcement yet.

“We will really be happy when Hyundai Motors officially dictate the release date. It’s a good feeling obviously, because the SUV has generated ample interest among the buyers and it should reach them at the right time”, he added.

It is also being speculated that the upcoming Hyundai Santa Cruz could probably be exclusive to the United States at launch. The brand might choose to expand its reach to other regions in the following months, but the U.S. boss is not sure what their head office might decide to do.

Production of Hyundai Santa Cruz will, however, take place in the United States. “From our perspective, it’s all about exporting the vehicle to different countries, if we get the permission to do”, he said.

The company is also looking at viable options to make production possible and deliver the right quantity. They don’t want to launch a new Santa Cruz without being able to cater to the audience with excessive number of cars. In case it becomes a crowd favorite, there could be plenty of demand for the particular model.

At the Detroit Show, Dave Zuchowski added that from a company’s perspective, a lot of factors have to fall in place in order to start production of a brand new model. Even though, the Santa Cruz has a great fan following and could receive great appreciation from the U.S. audience, Hyundai will do plenty of market research before approving the production phase.

Even if the company decides to launch the vehicle, it will not be a mainstream model with high towing capacity and load space. It will be more of a compact vehicle, but designed to offer additional headroom for the passengers and the comfort of a sedan at its best. The images released by the company do look alluring and if they make it official, it’s going to be a great option for those who live in the U.S.