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Diesel and petrol-only power will remain the VW Amarok ute's only options until a next-generation model arrives, plans for which are still being worked out.
A mooted electric version of the latest Volkswagen Amarok is now off the table, nor will the German car giant follow partner Ford in adding plug-in hybrid power to its current ute, the boss of the brand's commercial-vehicle division has confirmed.
Electrified propulsion will now need to wait until the next generation of the Amarok, which is at a crossroads between a continuation of the deal with Ford, or a ute developed in-house on a Volkswagen platform.
Volkswagen executives told Australian media at the Amarok's global launch in 2022 that electrified variants were being considered, both plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and battery-electric (BEV).
It was suggested to some reporters in attendance that an electric Amarok could arrive as soon as 2025, to help meet then-inbound European emissions rules which were expected to be tougher than they proved to be.
As European regulators have pulled back, and demand for battery-powered pick-ups has cooled globally, so have Volkswagen's plans for electrifying the Amarok.
"Yeah, this is not on the cards right now," Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles global CEO Stefan Mecha told Drive on the sidelines of the Munich motor show, when asked if the current-generation Amarok will be electrified.
Pressed on the topic, Mecha said: "As I said, no. At this stage, no."
Plug-in hybrid power would be the easier of the two options, as it is now available in the Amarok's Ford Ranger twin, built in the same South African factory and using a 2.3-litre turbo-petrol engine also offered in the VW in Australia.
Ford's PHEV sandwiches a 75kW electric motor sandwiched between the engine and 10-speed automatic transmission, connected to an 11.8kWh battery pack.
Meanwhile, hints given to select media at the Amarok's international launch three years ago pointed to a 100kWh battery pack between the axles of an electric Amarok, with dual-motor all-wheel drive and a circa-500km range.
A Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles spokesperson said in a written statement to Drive: "We are looking into both PHEV and BEV for the Amarok in the future and currently see the greater opportunities in BEV, but no formal decision has been made yet.
"Australia is an important market to Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and especially for the Amarok.
"We will check very closely what innovations will serve our customers and markets to do proper business, as we do constantly."
The Volkswagen executive said he expects the ute segment will eventually switch to electric power, but it will take time.
"This depends on the market. I think today, it's good that we still focus on the combustion engine, but also, this segment will convert. We are looking into this, but again, not for the near-term future, I think it will take a little bit."
A hybrid Amarok is in development, but for South America as a new-generation model based on the LDV Terron 9, intended to replace the first-generation VW pick-up still on sale there.
The second-generation Amarok on sale in Australia and Europe – not sold in South America – has "another five years" left to run, Mecha said, and it is "too early to say" definitively what its successor will look like.
Mecha took the top job at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles earlier this year, succeeding Carsten Intra, who told Drive in April that the brand is at a crossroads with what to do with an eventual third-generation Amarok for Australia.
He suggested a new model developed with Ford as a front-running option, or an in-house, fully-electric model developed on a new 'Space' platform destined for future Volkswagen vans, but that could accept a ute.
"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," Intra said, "so I doubt that we need someone else than Volkswagen [and] Ford, our … good partnership that we have."
His successor expressed similar sentiments.
"I think we have a running project, and it's always good to talk to the partner that you work with," Mecha told Drive.
"I wouldn't, let's say, put it in a hierarchy or prioritise this [or this], I think we look at all options available, but definitely we'll talk to Ford, because we are on good terms."
Asked if the Amarok sells well enough to justify an in-house replacement, Mecha said: "I think that's difficult. When we made the decision for the Amarok, definitely scale was one of the reasons.
"The Ranger is a very good product, so we put this together, the strengths that we have."
He poured cold water on suggestions the Amarok could use the bespoke ladder-frame chassis underneath the range-extender and electric off-roaders from Volkswagen's new, US-focused Scout brand.
"That's a bit too far-fetched," said Mecha. "I think Scout first needs to deliver the cars to the market ... That's the primary focus of it."
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
