Ford inked a partnership with Volkswagen in 2020, leading to the two sharing a platform for their pickup trucks. Ford offers the Ranger, while VW produces the Amarok. We saw the Ford debut earlier this year, and VW launched its equivalent earlier today. However, Volkswagen has no plans to offer an SUV version of the Amarok like Ford does of the Ranger, which the Blue Oval calls the Everest.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles board member for marketing Lars Krause said this week that the company has no plans to base an SUV off the new Amarok. Instead, the company is focusing on offering a robust line of accessories, like a hardtop canopy, for the enthusiast and off-roader customers. According to CarExpert.com.au, Krause said this week that the company believes the pickup is best at “delivering value to our customers.”
Gallery: 2023 Volkswagen Amarok
Ford launched the revamped Everest in March, just weeks ahead of revealing the similarly styled Ranger pickup. While the new Ranger will arrive in the US, along with its high-powered Raptor guise, Ford has no plans to add the SUV to its American portfolio. Ford’s lineup is full of crossovers and SUVs at the moment, and there isn’t a lot of room for another entry.
Ford and Volkswagen detailed their partnership in 2020, detailing the models the two would collaborate on producing and selling. The tie-up is supposed to spawn a cargo van and a city van for the two, with Ford developing the cargo van and VW developing the other. Ford will also get a new EV based on VW’s MEB architecture that the two are jointly developing.
While Volkswagen isn’t considering an Amarok-based SUV right now, that doesn’t mean one might not arrive later. Automakers constantly evaluate their portfolio and future lineups and adjust to meet demand. Growing EV adoption has Volkswagen considering an all-electric Amarok, which could spawn a Ranger equivalent, so nothing is set in stone.
