Volkswagen Amarok lives on thanks to Ford Ranger

A design sketch of the next-generation Volkswagen Amarok pick-up truck was revealed back in March, offering a tease of what’s to come with the collaboration between Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and Ford that was formed in 2019.This means that the upcoming Amarok will have plenty in common with the next-generation Ranger, even though the Blue Oval’s entrant has yet to be seen in its physical form.

It also appears that the Amarok has the Ranger to thank for prolonging its lifespan. “Ultimately it is our customers who will benefit (from the joint venture), as without the cooperation we would not have developed a new Amarok,” Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles chairman Thomas Sedran said in a statement.

“The collaboration with Ford is an important building block of our GRIP 2025+ strategy for the future and thus part of the transformation process that VWCV is currently going through. Over the coming years, the cooperation will strengthen our strong position in the area of light commercial vehicles, especially in our core European markets,” Sedran said.

The Amarok’s projected debut in 2022 ties in with the arrival of the next-generation Ranger, which has been indicated to be revealed in late 2022. The Ranger will reportedly retain the current T6 platform, meaning the next Amarok will do the same, though the Ranger and its Everest SUV sibling will gain a plug-in hybrid petrol powertrain in the coming generation’s lifecycle.

The Amarok will take different path, though. Volkswagen is no stranger to electrification of its passenger car line-up, however the Amarok appears not to be part of the move as there are currently no plans to electrify the pick-up truck, Volkswagen chief operating officer Ralf Brandstätter told carsales.com.au last year.

The German brand’s pick-up truck does have a potent diesel powerplant at the top of its line-up, a 3.0 litre TDI V6 with 258 PS and more than 550 Nm of torque, and this is mated to an eight-speed automatic and permanent all-wheel-drive.

Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.