Volkswagen rules out ‘baby’ Amarok ute – unless it’s electric
Volkswagen US bosses pour cold water on a compact car-derived ute, at least with combustion power under the bonnet.
Volkswagen has confirmed it has no plans for a smaller ute sitting below the Amarok, built to rival to the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz car-derived utes – unless it uses all-electric power.
Speaking with industry publication Automotive News, Volkswagen North America sales and marketing boss Duncan Movassaghi said: "Our priority within the Volkswagen brand is to keep our existing [internal combustion-engined] vehicles competitive [and invest in electric vehicles].
"Investing at this time into a niche ICE [compact ute] segment would not make sense for us."
While a petrol-powered rival to the Maverick and Santa Cruz might not be on the table, an electric dual-cab ute is well under consideration, says Movassaghi: "As we transform our lineup to BEV [battery-electric vehicles], an electric pickup could for sure be an option."
The American executive's remarks come weeks after Ford CEO Jim Farley was reportedly quoted in an interview by The New York Times as saying he "could envision Ford producing a family of Maverick variants, including an electric model."
While an electric version of the new Santa Cruz isn't understood to be in the plan, the flexibility of the Hyundai group's E-GMP modular electric 'skateboard' platform means an all-electric Korean ute could be possible in the coming years, under the brand's Ioniq electric sub-brand.
While the brand isn't sold in the US like the Santa Cruz, an electric Hyundai ute wouldn't be the first dual-cab Korean EV to hit the market, as compatriot SsangYong has confirmed it's working on an electric pick-up, expected to arrive in 2023 or 2024 with similar dimensions to the current Musso.
Volkswagen has toyed with the idea of a small or mid-size pick-up in recent years, first with the Amarok-sized (but car-derived) Atlas Tanoak concept at the New York motor show in April 2018, followed by the smaller Tarok concept for the Brazilian market later that year.