Volkswagen releases images of the new Amarok ute

Australians have become obsessed with American-style pick-up trucks and this new model will be VW’s top-selling vehicle when it launches.

Volkswagen has given buyers a sneak peak of its vital new Amarok ute.

The sketches give the first glimpse of the front end and interior of the new model, which is expected to arrive Down Under in the first quarter of 2023.

The ute shares underpinnings with the new Ford Ranger, which will land in showrooms in the middle of next year.

Despite the shared componentry, the images show that the vehicles will be very different to look at and drive. For the past three years, German engineers have been based at Ford’s design and engineering headquarters in Melbourne, where an Australian team is leading development of both vehicles.

An artist's impression of new VW Amarok ute, due in Australia in early 2023. Picture: Supplied.

But the teams have been deliberately kept apart to maximise the differentiation between the two models.

It’s a big departure from other platform-sharing ventures in recent years. The Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ were almost identical to each other, as were the Toyota Supra and BMW Z4.

Mazda’s BT-50 ute and the Isuzu D-Max also share very similar cabins and driving characteristics.

Big things are expected of the new Ranger and Amarok, as the current models are the two most accomplished utes on the market.

The new Amarok will share underpinnings with Ford’s Australian-designed Ranger. Picture: Supplied.

They’re also vital to the success of each brand – Ford’s Ranger makes up almost 70 per cent of the company’s total sales, while the Amarok is the biggest selling vehicle in the Volkswagen range, accounting for one in five sales. Australia is the number one market in the world for the Amarok V6.

Volkswagen hasn’t confirmed whether the new model will continue with its existing V6 diesel or adopt the new Ford V6 diesel in the Ranger. The V6 makes up 90 per cent of current Amarok sales.

The VW’s cabin, which was more than a decade old and looking dated against modern competition, has been extensively revamped, with a “digital cockpit” readout in front of the driver and a tablet-style centre touchscreen.

The cabin has dual digital screens and a much more modern dash. Picture: Supplied.

Volkswagen promises more driver assistance technology and a full complement of airbags. The current model has been often criticised for not having rear curtain airbags, limiting its suitability as a family vehicle.

Lars Krause, the board of management member for sales and marketing at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, says connectivity will also be vastly improved.

“The Amarok will from 2022 thus be featuring innovations that have not been seen before in this segment,” he says.

Albert-Johann Kirzinger, head of design at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, says the new model has “clear Volkswagen DNA, inside and out”.

Ryan Davies, VW Australia’s director of commercial vehicles, says the new cabin has trademark VW design cues.

“What the designers have been able to accomplish here is absolutely, to-the-core Volkswagen DNA,” he says.

The new Amarok will be built in South Africa, while the Ranger will be built in Thailand. The Ranger platform has been designed to accommodate future hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric versions and Volkswagen is likely to adopt any tech that is available.

The Volkswagen Amarok W580S has been a big hit since its launch. Picture: Supplied.

Volkswagen is likely to extend its partnership with Walkinshaw Automotive Group to develop a rival to Ford’s top-end Ranger Raptor. The partnership with Walkinshaw has been a huge success, with almost 1000 sales since the launch of the W580 earlier this year. A Walkinshaw model is unlikely to appear until later in the Amarok’s product cycle, though. The Walkinshaw project employs 25 Australians in the Walkinshaw factory in Clayton.

It’s the second local operation to secure work modifying top-end utes for importers. Premcar, which used to tune hot Falcons for Ford, now producing a top-end variant of the Navara.

Originally published as Volkswagen releases images of the new Amarok ute