Holden Commodore ute's spiritual successor Australia needs: Why a new type of ute such as the 2026 Ford Maverick or Hyundai Santa Cruz is needed to stop the market from being overwhelmed

Australia has a ute problem.

It goes without saying that we love utes in this country, with the Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux and Isuzu D-Max consistently amongst our best-selling models every month. Even charging six-figures for locally-converted Chevrolets and Rams isn’t an obstacle for us.

But it has created an overwhelming rush of brands looking to take their own piece of the pie. There are simply too many utes hitting the market that not all will survive, and there are arguably some that shouldn’t even bother trying because they are destined for failure (or mediocrity, at best).

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Even as a motoring journalist I struggle to keep up at times. Kia helped the Tasman gain some cut through by hiring every retired sports star in the country (and Rafa Nadal) to spruik its new ute. The BYD Shark 6 made an impact by offering something different at a competitive price.

After those two, it all starts to get a bit harder to follow. There are 25 utes on sale as of July 2025, with some brands offering multiple. For example, despite being relatively new to the market, GWM has decided that one ute isn’t enough and actually offers three choices - the creatively named Ute as well as the Cannon and upsized Cannon Alpha.

Then you’ve got the likes of JAC, MG, Chery, Deepal and more on the way to give us a dizzying array of choices of utes that are largely all very similar to each other.

So what Australia really needs now is… more utes.

Obviously, having just written there’s already too much choice you’re probably thinking I’m mad, but I don’t want more one-tonne, dual cab utes, I think Australia is ready for a different kind of ute.

A few years ago I drove the Ford Maverick in the US, and it remains the closest experience to a Ford Falcon ute since the demise of local manufacturing. The Maverick isn’t based on a car, but as you’d expect in this day-and-age, it’s on the same underpinnings as the Escape mid-size SUV.

It’s the same concept as the Hyundai Santa Cruz and many similar models available in the South American market, such as the Ram Dakota. Toyota is rumoured to be considering creating its own RAV4-based ute too, to go head-to-head with the Maverick and Santa Cruz.

Either the Maverick or Santa Cruz would be a welcome addition to the Australian new car market, as it would combine two of our favourite things - utes and SUVs. It would also be something different from these big, bigger, biggest utes that are arriving at a seemingly endless rate.

Australian buyers have made it clear that we like the driving dynamics of an SUV and the practicality of a ute. Obviously these types of utes wouldn’t be for everyone, they likely wouldn’t be very capable at towing or taking a big payload. But guess what? We’ve got plenty of those already, so we don’t need more.

In my experience the Maverick would make an ideal option for someone who lives in the city or suburbs and likes to enjoy their weekends at the beach, riding mountain bikes or other active lifestyles. And yet, during the week, instead of driving a big, heavy dual cab ute, you can enjoy an easier SUV driving experience.

Happily, it looks like one brand is going to give it a shot (well, actually two brands), Chery spin-offs Omoda and Jaecoo. The company hasn’t confirmed anything yet, but there are indications that the Chinese ‘lifestyle’ and ‘adventure’ brands might try something different to separate themselves from the pack.

Which makes sense, because why would you try and compete head-to-head with the Ranger and HiLux when there’s a white space opportunity. But it seems like Omoda and/or Jaecoo will be the only possibility in the near-future. Ford and Hyundai have previously ruled out any chance the Maverick or Santa Cruz could be available here in their current forms. 

Obviously I’m not on the inside of these car companies and don’t know the finer details of production costs, market opportunities, etc, but surely there is room for one brand to test the waters and see if Australians will embrace a different kind of ute.