Volkswagen may produce two electric utes

One of Volkswagen’s most senior US executives has suggested the German auto giant may develop two all-new electric utes, at least for the North American market.

Speaking to the Autoline After Hours podcast, Volkswagen of America’s senior vice-president of product marketing and strategy, Hein Schafer, ruled out a direct rival for the small Ford Maverick dual-cab.

He said Volkswagen would not release any new combustion-powered vehicles in the US, effectively kyboshing a competitor for the Tucson-based Hyundai Santa Cruz ute such as the stillborn 2018 Volkswagen Tanoak concept, based on the large MQB-based VW Atlas SUV made in Tennessee (known as the Teramont outside the US).

But Schafer did not rule out a pick-up based on the Volkswagen Group’s latest dedicated electric MEB platform.

In fact, he said the modular EV architecture could eventually spawn two battery-powered utes.

The senior VW exec said the MEB platform “does give us potentially the opportunity to bring some kind of small mid-size pick-up or maybe something a little bit larger”.

“It wouldn't be a myth to think potentially about something larger on the BEV platform, too. If we do build a large SUV on the BEV platform, then a large pick-up might also make sense,” he said.

This has led to speculation that Volkswagen could produce its first direct rival for full-size American pick-ups like the Ford F-150, to slot above the second-generation Amarok now being developed alongside the next-gen Ranger by Ford.

Of course, given the new Volkswagen Amarok is not due on sale Down Under until 2023, any potential new VW utes would seem a long way off for Australia – if ever, since it’s unclear whether any of either of them would be produced in right-hand drive, unlike the Santa Cruz and Atlas.