Volkswagen is to re-enter the one-tonne pickup truck segment for the first time since the mid-1990s but, this time, will offer an original design, claiming to be the first European manufacturer to do so.
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The new truck was unveiled at the Hanover commercial vehicle show as a concept called SAR (Search and Rescue). This smart crew-cab 4×4 pick-up provides a clear indication of what a ‘lifestyle’ VW pick-up will look like though more basic single cab versions are also expected.
The SAR is built on a new platform with traditional body-on-chassis construction.
“It is the fourth LCV model of our range and we have developed it from scratch,” said VW commercial vehicles CEO Stephan Schaller.
This segment is currently dominated by Japanese and US manufacturers – Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Ford and Mazda – and has a relatively low profile in Europe.
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By GlobalDataBut Schaller said it has “high-growth global potential”and VW’s strong presence in Latin America has been a major driver in its decision to build the new truck which will be produced at the automaker’s Pacheco, Argentina, factory from the third quarter of 2009.
Earlier this year, VW displayed a side-view rendering of the pickup at a rural fair in Argentina.
Prototypes were under development in Germany, although the Brazilian subsidiary had been involved, just-auto’s South American correspondent reported at the time.
Several prototypes had been air freighted in locked containers between Wolfsburg and São Bernardo do Campo, state of São Paulo, where VW had built one the biggest technical centres outside Germany.
There had been local speculation the new truck had been inspired by the luxury Touareg SUV, somewhat like the AAC concept presented at the Detroit show last January.
The new truck, known in South America as the RPU (for Robust PickUp) was expected to have a higher payload than direct Mercosur competitors which include the Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger, Mitsubishi L200, Nissan Frontier, a Mahindra model and the upcoming Fiat-Tata Xenon.
The RPU was likely to carry up to 1,500kg compared to rivals’ 1,000kg (one tonne) payload so it could compete with the Brazilian-built Ford F-250, the only large-size pickup currently built in the Mercosur region.
Volkswagen was planning single and double cab, 4×4 and 4×2, petrol and diesel versions of its new truck and there also was talk of an RPU-derived SUV for late 2010.
The planned investment in Argentina’s Pacheco plant would total $223m and create 2,000 new, direct jobs for an estimated 40,000 units per year output initially.
As well as Brazil and Argentina, VW would target other markets such as South Africa, Australia and southeast Asia. Total annual production would be 100,000 units.
VW executives late last week said, however, it would be possible to produce a body-on-chassis SUV on the same platform, but there were no immediate plans to do this.
Schaller believes the use of its advanced common-rail turbodiesel engines in the as-yet unnamed pick-up will be “a groundbreaking development in the pick-up segment”.
VW has dabbled in this segment before, with the Golf Mk1-based Caddy in the 1980s (current Caddy CV models are rebadged Seats), as well as a VW Taro-badged version of the Toyota Hilux sold from 1987 to 1997.
VW also built some Hilux models for Toyota to sell in Europe; the Japanese automaker now sources most of the current range from South Africa.
