New Volkswagen Amarok ready for electric power

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has confirmed the new 2023 Volkswagen Amarok is “ready for everything” in terms of future powertrains – including full-electric and hybrid – and has nominated an initial 10-year lifecycle for its new-generation pick-up.

The decade-long lifespan means the new Amarok may still have several years left on the global market when bans on the sale of new internal combustion vehicles begin to take effect in key overseas markets from 2030, including the UK.

“We are always aiming for decades for the Amarok because we do think the first generation is an icon, and we are absolutely convinced that the second generation, the new Amarok, will also become an icon, and therefore we are planning for 10 years and maybe even longer,” said Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles board member for sales and marketing, Lars Krause.

“We are flexible. That means basically we have a current set-up of drivetrains – diesel and petrol – but we are observing closely the market and the platform is flexible and enables us also to come up with new electrified versions and therefore we are ready for everything that comes up.”

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles CEO Carsten Intra added that customer feedback and consumer demand were also behind the evolving technology and its subsequent rollout.

“Volkswagen is very intensive and very consequent on the ‘Way to Zero’, so for us, electrification is a subject in all the different fields,” he said.

“What we do when we look into our products, first of all we listen into our customers and to our customers worldwide.

“With the Amarok, we have a broad customer base all over the globe and the different [market] needs – what we can see exactly in that pick-up business there is popping up a lot of demands actually towards electrification.

“So what we have already checked and we can confirm, so this car is made for electrification.”

The new Volkswagen Amarok is based on the Australian-developed Ford Ranger, which has previously had its electrification compatibility confirmed.

Ford engineers said the third-generation T6 platform underpinning both the Ranger and Amarok is “suitable for a number of applications, whether that’s a plug-in hybrid, whether it’s more of a mild hybrid with a smaller battery”.

The company also recently revealed that a second all-electric Ford pick-up truck is in the works – after the Ford F-150 Lightning – which points to a Ranger EV.

However, Volkswagen and Ford have both indicated that electrification is still some way off from launching in their new utes.

“We’re looking closely, we have not taken any decision today to bring it [electrification] in the very near future, but I think it’s as interesting field of action … for sure,” Intra said.

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