The management of the Volkswagen concern is considering the possibility of producing electric pickup trucks for the U.S. market.

Volkswagen executives in the U.S. still want pickup trucks for the American market, and they are not content to leave the segment alone.

On Tuesday, Pablo Di Ci, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, told Motor Authority that the company will once again consider the pickup truck segment for the US.

The timeline for Volkswagen pickups arriving at dealerships is not clear, but executives said the current plan is to bring a proposal to the German board in the third quarter of 2023.

If the pickup truck is approved, it would be developed in the US for the US. Di Ci noted that vehicles built in the US for the US are more successful, as demonstrated by the Atlas crossover SUV, which is designed and developed in the US and built in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

A possible VW pickup would be electrified, utilizing the current platform in the automaker's portfolio. It would likely be a unibody vehicle based on the Atlas platform. [The Atlas, introduced in the 2018 model year and refreshed in 2021, will debut at the 2023 Chicago Auto Show with an updated look in 2024. The next generation Atlas may be several years away.

Andrew Savas, Volkswagen's chief sales and marketing officer for North America, told Motor Authority that the next-generation Atlas could be electrified. Di Ci noted that it could feature a hybrid or plug-in hybrid powertrain, but that a plug-in hybrid model would have more impact. Di Shi said, "It would be strategically unwise to deploy hybrids on multiple fronts."

Not only would future plug-in hybrid pickup trucks and Atlas need to be built in the U.S., but the minerals and cells for the battery packs would need to be sourced domestically to qualify for incentives under recent inflation control laws. If VW does so, however, the battery supplier would qualify for battery manufacturing incentives of up to $45 per kilowatt-hour under another part of the IRA. If that happens, an Atlas-based PHEV pickup could be significantly cheaper than its unplugged competitors.

Volkswagen unveiled its Atlas-based Tanoak pickup truck concept at the 2018 New York Auto Show. Executives said at the time that the concept was not intended for production, but to gauge consumer interest.