- Volkswagen CEO ‘won’t rule out’ pickup truck.
- The compact and midsize truck segments are poised to face stiffer competition, as the full-size truck market is a tough one to crack.
- VW is confident that vehicles in any segment can be successful.
The pickup truck segment is a very profitable segment in the United States. The Ford F-150 and Chevy Silverado appear to be locked in first and second place on the best-selling vehicles list.
Of course, other automakers want a slice of that profitable pie. At the 2026 New York Auto Show, Hyundai reiterated its promise to produce a mid-sized body-on-frame pickup for the US market by 2030. At the same show, the CEO of Volkswagen Group of America said he “would not rule out” the idea of a pickup.
Asked about VW’s pickup concept in the past at a media roundtable, CEO Kjell Gruner had this to say:
‘Of course, if the market is that big, you can’t just say, I’ll ignore it, and we didn’t. So of course we see that. We looked at C-pickups, B-pickups, and others. Do you know how this segment is developing? And I don’t want to rule it out at all… pickup trucks aren’t ruled out either.’
Interestingly, Gruner specifically mentioned the B and C segment pickups, which are typically unibody and can utilize the VW Group’s existing MQB architecture. Current competitors in this class include the Ford Maverick and Ram Rampage, which are not available in the United States. There is also the Santa Cruz from Hyundai which will stop production this year. The field is expected to expand soon, with the Slate barebones truck coming in at $25,000.
VW’s 2019 Tarok concept represents a step in this direction, and it plans to produce the Tukan for the South American market starting next year.
With its larger size, the unibody Honda Ridgeline competes with the more traditional truck-like Ford Ranger, Chevy Colorado, and Toyota Tacoma. A new Ram Dakota is expected to enter the fray next year, and Subaru has hinted at a new Baja. Volkswagen has shown off concepts in this class before, the most recent being the Atlas Tanoak concept in 2018.
When asked whether the new pickup would be a unibody or body-on-frame, the VW Group America CEO said “both could be successful” and it depends on the application:
‘It depends a bit on what we want to do with it, because body-on-frame helps, of course, if you want to go further on off-road and rough terrain, compared to the on-road position. [with] unibody. Additionally, you can take advantage of existing unibody platforms. So… they have their pros and cons. There is no one definitive solution.’
Volkswagen Atlas Tanoak Concept
It will most likely use an MQB-based unibody truck, as VW has not yet prepared a body-on-frame platform. As for what will power VW’s pickup truck, it will likely be a version of the brand’s long-standing EA888 2.0-liter 4-cylinder, with or without a hybrid booster. It will likely be produced at Volkswagen’s assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to avoid heavy tariffs.
Gruner declined to say whether future Volkswagen pickups would be related to the Scout offering, stating only that they are “separate companies. [with] separate product decisions.”
Motor Pickup1: Volkswagen hasn’t sold a pickup truck in the US since the Rabbit Pickup (known as the Caddy internationally) stopped production in 1984. Volkswagen has sold the mid-size Amarok internationally since 2010, but it would be great to see the brand re-enter the North American pickup market.
