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Volkswagen is discussing what to do with the next-generation Amarok for Australia – and whether to pair up again with Ford, or go alone – but either way, it's likely to be electrified.
A fully-electric Volkswagen Amarok developed in-house for the first time since the original 15 years ago is one of the options on the cards for the next-generation ute.
The German car giant is now weighing up what that could look like – and whether it can justify going it alone, using a new electric-vehicle 'skateboard' platform initially developed for vans, or again teaming up with Ford.
Either way, electric power is likely for the next-generation ute, due early next decade – a few years before many countries turn the taps off on new petrol- and diesel-engined vehicle sales.
"We have a very good partnership with Ford, and we are discussing all the different types of working together," Carsten Intra, the global boss of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, told Drive.
"But finally it has to come to a contract, and to a business case ... If this is the case, we're open to discussion, and if that is not the case, we have other opportunities possibly as well. So we are looking into collaboration.
"... As [Volkswagen] Commercial Vehicles is only a part of the market, we always look for cooperation. Cooperation can be in the Volkswagen Group. We look at the MQB, the MEB whatsoever, so [to use] the same platform [as other VW brands].
"And if there is something missing for us, we would always go with a different partner, which is the case with Ford.
"So what we look to is, are there enough collaboration possibilities in the company? If that's not the case, we look into Ford. We're in the phase of analysing possibilities and opportunities, so not yet decided."
Executives have previously acknowledged today's Amarok for Australia would not exist without the Ford partnership, as it does not sell in high-enough volumes globally.
"Partnering means also partnering in terms of components," VW Commercial Vehicles sales and marketing chief Lars Krause told Drive, when asked if a new Amarok for Australia would still need to be a partnership with another brand.
"So if we basically find within the Group enough volume to create a successor – for example, for an Amarok – this is always an option.
"Partnering doesn't [necessarily] mean basically to create a complete vehicle with a partner, but it means always collaborating in terms of economies of scale. That's always the idea behind that."
Intra added: "Look, as we have a good partnership with Ford, and we have a very strong company, we would look first of all in those two baskets before we go to someone else.
"So I doubt that we need someone else than Volkswagen [and] Ford, our ... good partnership that we have."
Complicating the matter is that the next-generation Ford Ranger – expected in 2030 – is due to adopt a new platform more closely related to the larger F-150 pick-up.
It is expected to mean less of the ute's development is conducted by Ford Australia, which led the creation of the current model, and where Volkswagen stationed a design team during the Amarok's gestation.
Instead, more work is expected to be conducted in the US – which may make it harder for VW engineers to get involved.
One growing front-runner for the next-generation Amarok is a new 'Space' electric-car platform in development at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, due to debut under a new Crafter van in 2028.
Krause said "it could be also used for other variants," when asked if it is exclusive to vans, before adding when pressed: "Also potentially for pick-ups," and that "it's a conceptual possibility".
Unlike the left-hand-drive-only Scout, the Space platform is planned for global markets, so is highly likely to accomodate right-hand drive.
It opens the possibility for the Australian Amarok to return to an in-house project – powered solely by electricity – for its next generation.
Intra said an electric-only platform reduces cost and complexity compared to needing to design a vehicle for petrol, hybrid and electric power, as the company did a decade ago, when early planning on today's Amarok begun.
"Demand is not in the Group. Demand is in the market. ... We think that we can create a lot of demand when the market is turning into one drivetrain model," he said, when asked if there's sufficient sales potential within the VW Group to develop a new Amarok in-house.
"The problem that we had some 10 years ago is that we had a perfect storm, having everything in three drivetrains [petrol/diesel, hybrid and electric]. So you have to develop everything.
"That means volume. The volume is not changing too much because the market is more or less mature, and then you have to invest to develop ... three times the car, is what we see in our B segment [mid-size van and ute range].
"So if you then come down to only electrified cars, for example, then volume will be bigger for sure.
"It could be a better business case to make it with even more volume, but I see that when the market has turned over and the transition is in the next phase, in five to 10 years, we'll have much more electrified cars and then you'll have more volume on there."
He said any new VW commercial vehicle would need to tick particular boxes, irrespective of platform: some or all of the power sent to the front wheels, a high towing capacity, and a high payload.
"This is what you need for a van, this is what you need for an Amarok pick-up, this is what you need for a lorry van, this is what you need for a panel van, this is what you need for a Crafter.
"So this concept in itself could serve as one skateboard for different kinds of cars. It could be a variable platform that is serving quite a lot of different cars, and stretching.
"That was not possible because in the past we had the combustion engine plus the hybrid that takes a lot of space, then the BEV [electric] where you have to pull out the tank and put something in.
"... We want to have one concept for the future, and we try to stretch it as wide as we can without compromising customer needs."
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
