New Volkswagen Amarok manual already axed

The manual-transmission version of the new 2023 Volkswagen Amarok ute has already been culled within weeks of the first examples arriving in Australia.

The new Amarok – which arrived in showrooms this month – was set to differ from its automatic-only Ford Ranger twin under the skin in offering the option of a six-speed manual transmission on the base-model Core.

Now Volkswagen Australia has advised it will not be importing any more manual Amarok Core utes after the first batch of vehicles in Australian showrooms now.

"A small number of Amarok Core manuals have been brought into the country," a company spokesperson told Drive.

"The overwhelming preference for Amarok in automatic form only accelerated through the previous generation model’s life and during initial ordering this trend continued with the all-new Amarok."

While demand for manual transmissions in commercial vehicles is higher than in passenger cars or family SUVs, they still account for the minority of sales.

Data supplied to Drive shows manual transmissions accounted for 25 per cent of two-wheel-drive utes reported as sold last year, and 12.6 per cent of four-wheel-drive utes – compared to 13.5 per cent across all vehicle types.

Volkswagen Australia says 78 per cent of Amarok buyers last year selected a "high-grade" variant – up from 58 per cent in 2020 – all of which are automatic-only.

The company has not disclosed what percentage of previous-generation Amaroks sold had manual transmissions.

It forecasts the Style – priced from $66,990 to $70,990 plus on-road costs with bi-turbo four-cylinder or single-turbo V6 diesel power – to be the top seller in the new Amarok range, which it predicts will become the company's top-selling model.

There are now four utes (excluding full-size US pick-ups) not available with a manual transmission in Australia: the Ford Ranger, Volkswagen Amarok, Jeep Gladiator and GWM Ute.