This isn’t the first time we’ve heard this tune, but the speculation regarding a Volkswagen pickup coming to North America is popping up afresh.
According to a report by Reuters, the German automaker is reportedly reconsidering plans to build and sell a pickup truck in the United States and Canada. In fact, it plans to unveil its first pickup for the region before the end of the decade. Still according to Reuters, VW is also planning an executive leadership shuffle that will see North American operations taken over by Marco Schubert, currently heading sales at Audi.
Volkswagen Brand Chief Thomas Schäfer has said a priority for the company is to capture higher-margin, high-demand segments where the automaker has historically been absent. Namely, that means full-size SUVs and pickup trucks. Pickups accounted for nearly 20% of all US vehicle sales last year, so it’s no surprise automakers not currently in that race repeatedly come back to the idea of possibly getting into it. Volkswagen the brand currently holds roughly 4 percent market share in the region, so there’s enormous potential.
Chattanooga Choo Choo
Industry reports suggest the vehicle would likely be assembled at Volkswagen’s plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. That facility recently halted production of the electric ID.4, so there’s free capacity there. And putting production there would allow VW to sidestep steep import tariffs like the US Chicken Tax.
A Ford collaboration?
While Volkswagen previously evaluated compact electric truck concepts like the Atlas Tanoak and Tarok, the most plausible scenario involves a gasoline-powered midsize pickup derived from the global Amarok. Outside North America, the Amarok shares its ladder-frame chassis with the Ford Ranger through a global commercial vehicle partnership.
Given the existing Ford-VW ties, which also see Ford build European EVs on VW’s MEB platform, extending the Ranger-Amarok collaboration to North American soil would be a cost-effective route for Volkswagen.
However, sources indicate VW is still deciding whether to co-develop the truck with an established partner or proceed independently. An official decision is expected in the coming months.
Despite fierce competition from established giants like Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, a locally built pickup could prove essential for Volkswagen's long-term profitability in North America. That said, other automakers have been in the same position, but ultimately decided they didn’t like the odds of success of taking on the Big Three, not to mention Toyota with its popular pickups.