The all-new 2023 Volkswagen Amarok debuted back in 2022 as that automaker’s version of the Ford Ranger, with which it shares the Ford T6 platform, though both trucks do have their differences – most notably, exterior styling. A few months later, news surfaced that VW was planning on utilizing a modified version of that same platform for an all-electric variant with unique exterior styling of its own, which was slated to be called the ID Ruggdzz.
However, the market has changed quite a lot in the past couple of years, and now, it seems as if VW won’t be selling any sort of electrified Amarok variant – at least, not any time soon. According to Drive, Volkswagen has ditched plans to create an all-electric version of the current-generation Amarok, as well as a potential plug-in hybrid. Such things could very well arrive as part of the pickup’s next generation, but as of now, it’s unclear if the next Amarok will continue to share a platform with the Ranger or instead switch to VW underpinnings.
“Yeah, this is not on the cards right now,” Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles global CEO Stefan Mecha said at the Munich Motor Show in Germany recently when asked if the current-generation Amarok will be electrified at some point. “As I said, no. At this stage, no. 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.”
“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,” a Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles spokesperson said in a separate statement. “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.”
It would seemingly be very easy to offer an Amarok PHEV, given the fact that the Ranger PHEV just launched a few months ago. However, as Ford Authority reported earlier this month, the electrified Ranger is currently facing weaker than expected demand, prompting Ford to scale back production somewhat.
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