The Ford Ranger will soon return to North America after years on hiatus, but the next-generation mid-size pickup could share a platform with Volkswagen’s Amarok pickup.
Australian publication GoAuto reported Tuesday that Ford and VW are mulling over sharing a platform for the next-generation pickups. It’s unclear if the shared architecture would go global or be reserved for the Australian market. VWÂ Australia managing director Michael Bartsch confirmed that “All options are being looked at.”
“All avenues are being explored. I think it would be disingenuous of me to say there is nothing going on with Ford, otherwise Ford wouldn’t be making the comments that they are making, but I am not in a position at the moment to say what it may or may not be,” he added.
Sharing platform development costs could make both trucks a more profitable venture, especially for VW. The company currently builds the Amarok in Argentina and Germany. Bartsch said, “those are high-cost markets for a product that is in the most competitive environment (Australia) that you can be in.”
Ford’s current memorandum of understanding with Volkswagen will see both automakers co-develop commercial vehicles. If VW and Ford ink a partnership for next-generation pickups, the trucks likely wouldn’t surface until the middle of next decade.
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