The Ford Ranger-based Volkswagen Amarok is scheduled to debut in 2022.
Last fall, Ford unveiled a global version of the Ranger that will go on sale in the United States in 2023.
The new Ranger and its updated T6 body-on-frame platform will also serve as the basis for a redesigned Volkswagen Amarok, which will debut in 2022.
We have already spotted a prototype of the Amarok, and VW is now offering a new revealing teaser that suggests its debut is imminent.
The teasers also suggest that the new Amarok will not be a simple badge job for the Ranger. Unique to both models, as the teaser makes clear, is the fender design and the treatment of the headlights and grille; according to VW, the new Amarok will be wider than its predecessor and nearly 4 inches longer, bringing its overall length to 210 inches.
The interior will also be unique to both models, but the new Amarok will likely have a portrait-style infotainment screen like the new Ranger.
As for powertrains, VW has so far confirmed only its own V-6 diesel. Ford also just unveiled its new Ranger Raptor with a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6, which will be unveiled in the US in 2023. With any luck, VW will have its own performance pickup, the Amarok R. Confirmed specs for the standard Amarok include a maximum payload of 2,645 pounds and a maximum towing capacity of 7,716 pounds.
Ford will build the Amarok for VW at its South African plant, and the pickup has so far been confirmed only for the South American, European, and African markets. In return for developing and building the Amarok, Ford launched the Tourneo, a small van based on VW's latest Caddy, abroad last year; the VW Group has also licensed the MEB modular electric vehicle platform to Ford. Ford plans to use this platform for one or more EVs, the first of which, a compact crossover, will be launched in 2023.
While it is unlikely that VW will launch the Amarok in the US, VW plans to launch an electric pickup in the US later this decade. This pickup and a related SUV will be marketed under the revived Scout name.
