What kind of truck?
Based on Reuters’ report, nothing is finalized, so there are no concrete details at this point. We have no idea what size pickup VW is considering, how much it might cost, or even whether it will be gas- or electric-powered. A few possibilities suggest themselves, though.
Firstly, VW could just 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 it’s now on sale here, so that approach could work. That sure would be boring, though.
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 the other heavy hitters, a body-on-frame platform would be necessary to get the performance that 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?
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Denver Post via Getty Images
A more interesting alternative also involves platform sharing, but it 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. What if VW decided that two is a coincidence but three is a trend and that small, cheap trucks are actually the way to electrify America?
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; that’s what underpins the VW ID Buzz and ID.4. And the ID.4 recently ended production at VW’s factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, so it should have capacity for this putative pickup.