VW unveiled the Amarok pickup truck earlier this month. The body-on-frame truck is powered by a 2.0L turbo diesel with 163-hp and 295 lb-ft. of torque that helps it tow 5,600 pounds. There has been a lively debate about if the car should be sold in the US, since right now VW only plans on selling it in in South America, Australia, South Africa and Europe.
Well VW President and CEO, Stefan Jacoby has stated how many units VW would have to sell in the US to make it worthwhile.
"We'd have to sell at least 100,000 Amarok pickups to make it feasible," said Jacoby.
That basically means that the Amarok has no chances of coming here. The best-selling Toyota Tacoma is the only truck in that segment to sell over 100,000 units. Through November, 102,327 Tacomas have been sold. The next best-seller the Ford Ranger has sold only 51,097 units year-to-date.
The compact pickup segment is declining," said Jacoby. "Consumers are going to big pickups, which is a very traditional conservative segment. A lot of our competitors have burned their fingers in it as late entries."
"Before we could bring [the Amarok] here we'd have to do a lot of homework," said Jacoby. "But we have other vehicles to bring into this market first. Once we do that, we can talk about the Amarok."
Comments (10)
Apparently VW is clueless....
IF they could bring it here with the diesel then they would have the upper hand in the small truck market.
With that much torque it would actually perform well, and get decent gas mile, and probably have good reliability.
Marketing is 1/2 the battle.
The only downside...the used full size truck market. If all you need is something to haul junk, then a cheap used full size work truck could be had for much less than this.
Posted by Brian | December 16, 2009 12:19 PM
Posted on December 16, 2009 12:19
I'd imagine small business owners across the US that work out of pickups would go for this diesel, too. The price per mile would be less than the usual 3/4ton diesels out there, I speculate. I'd much rather have the VW over the Mahindra that is supposed to come out pretty soon. Whole lot easier on my eyes.
Posted by wvo | December 16, 2009 1:14 PM
Posted on December 16, 2009 13:14
As much as it pains me, I can agree with Mr Jacoby's statement. Recent attempts by both Nissan (Titan) and Toyota (Tundra) have led to very capable trucks but without the sales numbers either company had hoped for. I agree that a smaller, more efficient truck is something I would really like to have. But, the economics of bringing a new truck to a declining buying public. (The Ford Ranger is profitable, because the tooling/design has been long established and Ford can continue churning them out reliably with very simple updates.). The other problem is that the Colorado/Canyon and Dakota's price points aren not much lower than a lower line full-size truck and the fuel efficiency disparity between the two sizes is not sizable.
Posted by longdxcommuter | December 16, 2009 3:18 PM
Posted on December 16, 2009 15:18
I can understand why Nissan truck sales are in the dumper here in the states. They simply don't last. Rust usually gets them early. I see newer Frontiers that are showing rust, and even some Xterra's too. They just don't do well in the salt belt. Older Nissan trucks are all but a memory here in New England.
The Tundra is a good vehicle. It's either the price point or a well established full-sized market that keeps it from doing better.
Agreed with Jacoby and longdx. Even with the diesel, I don't think they could sell more than 50K a year. I'm not fond of that mid-sized 4-dr pickup style either. Toyota somehow makes it look good, but Ford pretty much failed with the SportTrac.
Too bad though, I like those VW front ends. Very unoffensive...
Posted by Trooper Bri | December 16, 2009 3:35 PM
Posted on December 16, 2009 15:35
Odd, these Jacoby-USA chap. This is a global car, that apparently is competitive. Then, to be profitable, he has to sell more than 100k pieces here. Per year? Scale-effect on a USA version?
Very odd.
Posted by Waldorff | December 17, 2009 3:51 AM
Posted on December 17, 2009 03:51
Normal VW cars don't last, this isn't going to work.
Posted by RX-7 Guy | December 17, 2009 8:19 AM
Posted on December 17, 2009 08:19
"The next best-seller the Ford Ranger has sold only 51,097 units year-to-date. "
It only sold this much because it's dated. The present Ranger was designed when......early 80"s? It has an outdated engine (4.0 liter and only a tad over 200 hp??), outdated chassis (torsion bar front suspension??), no four doors, rides like crap (even for a truck-I know, I presently own one).
"Consumers are going to big pickups, which is a very traditional conservative segment. A lot of our competitors have burned their fingers in it as late entries."
That's because the mid size truck cost almost as much as the big pickup. Have you look at a used Frontier (present gen), or a Tacoma (all gen)?? They cost almost as much as new big truck!!
Posted by topper | December 17, 2009 9:03 AM
Posted on December 17, 2009 09:03
hey, topper,
though most of what you said about the Ranger is true, i own an 08 and it does what it is meant to do for a low price, and because they havent had a mojor overhaul of anything since 1994 it is ridiculously reliable! i love my Ranger, and though i kind of wish i had gotten a used F-150, the Ranger is something i can keep for like 20 years without any major repairs as long as i do all the maintenance. that 4.0L V-6 is a little underpowered, but it runs like a champ and will take you in the 300, 000 mile range without any problems.
Posted by Phil | December 17, 2009 4:53 PM
Posted on December 17, 2009 16:53
I am surprised that this comment has not been made yet
but this truck
looks exactly like a Chevy Colorado
Posted by J Dean | December 18, 2009 8:21 AM
Posted on December 18, 2009 08:21
I've wanted a small diesel pickup for years, Ford won't do it, Toyota won't do it, and now it looks like VW will pass us up as well. We'll just have to see if the Mahindra will be reliable.
Too bad, my wife would love to have an Amarok.
Posted by Oilburner | January 11, 2010 10:00 AM
Posted on January 11, 2010 10:00