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While the pickup truck tailgate was once humble in its ambitions (i.e., keeping the bed closed), the auto industry’s relentless pursuit of progress has made it a proving ground for innovation.

As such, nowadays, it’s not enough to merely hinge open and shut. From to ,the tailgate is taking on new designs and also more responsibilities.

Welcome to Moonshots: A series exploring the big ideas that could reshape the future of products.

The latest of such visions comes from Hyundai. It takes the form of a patent filing, and it promises a new level of flexibility.

Pickup truck bed with tailgate open and a sliding tray extended from the bed. — Hyundai’s hinged design includes an extension.

A more flexible split-gate

That’s because the documentation surfaced depicts a tailgate design split into independently operated panels.

While that concept is very similar to something and eventually put into production on its own trucks, Hyundai’s execution is what’s especially noteworthy.

Two diagrams showing a pickup truck tailgate with a fold-down panel and sliding support arms extending from the truck bed. — The support is key to the design’s load-bearing promise.

Unlike the Blue Oval’s design, the patent includes provisions for a frame, an extension and a much more robust locking mechanism. As a result, the segmented tailgate not only hinges separately but also lays flat to increase the truck bed’s available real estate.

It even comes with robust striker locking mechanisms to keep everything in place, and there are multiple fail-safes to ensure everything stays secure.

Honestly, though, that’s just the beginning of the benefits to the functionality. I can see this tailgate design having all kinds of camping applications, and it would likely be a big hit among sports fans, too.

Front view of a gray Hyundai SUV with illuminated LED grille lights on a desert road. — The discontinued Santa Cruz leaves a noticeable hole for the brand to fill in the coming years.

Hyundai has a midsize inbound

In any event, given it’s likely hard to see a reason to be excited about a tailgate design, especially as patents don’t guarantee production.

However, this is but the latest in a series of other promising Hyundai pickup developments.

Hyundai and Kia previously published patents for a truck with a removable roof and doors not unlike the Jeep Gladiator in spirit. In sheer openness alone, it promised a new frontier for Hyundai pickups.

Light green Hyundai pickup truck with black trim parked on a road with mountains in the background. — Hyundai’s forthcoming pickup promises to be far more rugged. Will it benefit from this kind of clever multifunctionality?

Moreover, the brand has also confirmed that a new midsize truck and Ford Ranger is inbound. Even if the pictured pickup looks more like a past model, the design would likely be bound for the forthcoming truck.

Considering the challenges of efforts like the Santa Cruz and the Kia Tasman, the brand will have to come out swinging if it wants to stay competitive. Doubling down on modularity could be the edge Hyundai needs to carve out a niche.