VW Is Coming for the American Truck Market
In the United States, competing with the popularity of trucks is no easy task. Established truck brands include names like Ford and Ram, plus there are even newcomers like Hyundai with its 2022 Santa Cruz pickup. Volkswagen used to sell a truck in the States, but it’s been some time since the German company offered the U.S. a pickup. After an interview with CarBuzz, more speculation about a VW truck is happening. And that is a fairly exciting prospect.
Is Volkswagen building a truck?
Recently, Hein Schafer was interviewed by CarBuzz. Schafer is the Senior Vice President of Product & Strategy at Volkswagen Group of America. According to the CarBuzz interview, it seems like the VW Amarok will not be coming to America. And that is despite the fact that this VW truck does share components with Ford.
Apparently, if Volkswagen does bring a truck to the States, the brand wants to ensure it is a true competitor. VW does not want to build some kind of truck wannabe, and that makes sense. Americans take their trucks seriously. If a pickup is not truck-like enough, it likely won’t sell well. Just look at how well the Honda Ridgeline performs among truck shoppers.
Will there be an electric VW truck?
There’s been plenty of news out there that VW is reviving the Scout brand to produce an EV truck. If that is true, perhaps we will see a VW truck sold with an electric powertrain. EV SUVs and EV trucks are proving themselves to be practical options. And more and more American drivers are opting to make the switch.
By the time an EV truck from VW arrives, electric cars will be even more popular. Especially if the charging infrastructure can keep up with demand. Right now, charging EVs in public spaces can be a frustrating task. With some charging stations just not working or needing to set up some kind of app in order to use them.
When was the last time Volkswagen sold a truck in America?
Believe it or not, VW once sold a pickup truck in the United States. Known as the VW Rabbit Pickup, production lasted until 1983. During its run, about 75,000 Rabbit trucks were sold to Americans. So, it was not necessarily the most popular vehicle. And that is probably why they are an uncommon site to see on area roads.
Despite not selling a truck for some time, it does seem like Volkswagen is at least considering the idea here in the States. The brand does offer trucks in other markets, just not here. So clearly, VW is capable of building a pickup.
In order to offer a truck here in America, VW would need to meet various regulations. With an EV pickup, there would not be things like tailpipe emissions. And typically, they do have a smaller carbon footprint than gasoline cars. If Volkswagen builds an EV truck, that would be one less regulation that the automotive company would have to meet.
