What Kind of Truck?
Based on Reuters’ report, nothing is finalized, so there are no concrete details at this point. There is no confirmed size, price point, or powertrain for any potential VW pickup.
A few possibilities suggest themselves, though.
Firstly, VW could simply start building the Amarok in the US. That’s a truck designed for South America, but Ford’s Ranger was designed in Australia for non-US markets and is now on sale here, so that approach could work — though it would be an unambitious move.
For a more considered alternative, there’s Scout, the new VW Group brand for premium off-road-focused pickups and SUVs. In Michigan, Scout is designing vehicles to be built in South Carolina, using a body-on-frame platform with either battery electric or range-extended powertrains. Those are slated to arrive in 2028. If VW decides to enter the full-size segment and compete against Ford’s F-150 and other heavy hitters, a body-on-frame platform would be necessary to deliver the performance the market expects.
Whether that can be done with profit margins high enough to justify the effort depends on the numbers, including whether a VW truck on the same platform would cannibalize too many Scout sales.
In the early 1980s, VW built Golf-based pickups locally to evade the chicken tax. The ID.4 is out of production at Chattanooga, but what about an ID-based pickup? Credit: Denver Post via Getty Images
A more interesting alternative also involves platform sharing, but shouldn’t steal any sales from Scout. In recent weeks, we’ve seen a ~$25,000 electric pickup from Slate Auto, and next year the electric Ford Fathom is arriving at less than $30,000. If VW reads those moves as evidence that small, affordable trucks are the way to electrify America, it may want a seat at that table.
Developing its own low-cost electric truck from scratch by 2030 is a tall order. VW could build one using its MEB platform, as used by its mainstream brands and already underpinning the ID. Buzz and ID.4. The ID.4 recently ended production at VW’s factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which could free up capacity for a new pickup — making the MEB route both technically and logistically plausible.
