Volkswagen's U.S. Truck Push Gets SeriousMotorTrend - MotorTrendAccording to a recent report emanating from the German business daily Handelsblatt, Marco Schubert, the former head of sales at Audi, will soon be heading to Virginia to replace Kjell Gruner as the CEO of Volkswagen of America, a position that Gruner has held since December 2024. VW's U.S. sales and market share declined during Gruner's tenure, though the numbers have seen a slight uptick so far in 2026, likely due to the launch of the new Tiguan.In an effort to help reverse the decline in America, Thomas Schäfer, CEO of the VW brand, apparently sees trucks and large SUVs as potential growth opportunities for the German automaker. And according to the Handelsblatt report, an unnamed insider says Volkswagen is looking very hard at launching a pickup truck here first before the end of the decade that would be built at the automaker's Chattanooga plant, which currently produces the Volkswagen Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport, and until recently, the since-discontinued ID.4 electric SUV.MotorTrend reached out to Volkswagen of America, which declined to comment on either the management change or the possibility of a future pickup truck for America.Any Truck Won't Be EasyBreaking into and gaining a foothold in the U.S. truck and large SUV markets has been an uphill battle for foreign manufacturers over the years. Toyota's Tundra has long struggled to compete with the full-size pickups from GM, Ford, and Ram, and Nissan gave up after a valiant effort with the Titan. But Toyota was able to succeed with the Tacoma, which has long ruled the midsize pickup market, outselling its next three competitors combined.AdvertisementAdvertisementVolkswagen isn't a total novice in the truck market. It currently builds a midsize pickup truck called the Amarok that it sells in several markets outside the U.S. The Amarok, which VW previously toyed with bringing to the U.S., rides on a platform shared with the Ford Ranger as part of a 2019 alliance between Volkswagen and Ford. The two automakers also share technology on several small commercial vehicles and EVs that aren't sold in the United States.The Volkswagen Rabbit PickupMotorTrend - MotorTrendThe last pickup Volkswagen sold in the U.S. was a compact trucklet based on the Rabbit, built in Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, and introduced for the 1980 model year. The Rabbit Pickup was conceived and designed in the U.S. and later spread to other markets as the Volkswagen Caddy. Though U.S. sales ended after the 1983 model year, it remained on sale in South Africa, largely unchanged, through 2006. The Caddy survived in other markets as a pickup truck until around 2000, and remains in VW's worldwide lineup as a small van.The Midsize Way Is the Easier WayThe idea of a Volkswagen pickup is intriguing, and a Ranger-related midsize truck for the U.S. built in Chattanooga seems like the easiest to execute possibility, although the report indicated that no decision has been made one way or another on how VW would approach the new truck's development.Potential sales of any VW pickup along the lines of the Amarok probably wouldn't keep Toyota execs up at night, but even the numbers from the bottom-performing midsizers (the GMC Canyon racked up over 36,000 sales in 2025 and the Honda Ridgeline more than 48,000) would be a solid target for Volkswagen. The automaker sold around 330,000 vehicles in the U.S. last year (down from its modern-era 2012 sales peak of 438,000 units) and holds a market share of around 4 percent here at present.AdvertisementAdvertisementUsing a version of the Amarok's existing Ford Ranger platform would keep development costs reasonable, and a related body-on-frame SUV could be interesting as well. The Toyota 4Runner, for example, which uses Toyota's truck platform, recently sold 100,000 units, close to the volume of crossovers like the Hyundai Palisade, Kia Telluride, Honda Pilot, and Toyota's own Grand Highlander. Hyundai signaled its intent to invade this segment with the Boulder SUV concept, introduced at this year's New York auto show, and corporate partner Kia, like Volkswagen, has a body-on-frame pickup called the Tasman that it sells in other markets.The Kia Tasman pickupMotorTrend - MotorTrendScouting Out a Plus-Size Model Would Be Much HarderAs for full-size pickups and SUVs, that could be a much bigger struggle; just ask Nissan. Volkswagen could be eyeing the Tundra's 2025 volume of just under 150,000 trucks, but that pales when you consider that Ford sold well over 800,000 full-size pickups last year, while Chevrolet and GMC combined moved nearly a million. On the large SUV side, vehicles like the Nissan Armada and Toyota Sequoia rack up only a fraction of the sales of the market-leading Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Ford Expedition.Then there's the matter of Scout, the large truck and SUV brand that Volkswagen is reviving here, which will be powered by all-electric and alternative EREV powertrains. It stands to reason that VW could use elements of the Scout platform for a larger SUV than the Atlas and/or a Volkswagen-branded truck, perhaps with gas power. So far, however, Scout execs have indicated that Scout will remain separate and distinct from VW.We can speculate all we want, but if Volkswagen plans to enter the market before the end of the decade, we shouldn't have to wait for too long for any go/no-go. With that timeline, Volkswagen would likely need to start developing it very soon (if it hasn't already) if it's actually serious. We'll keep our eyes peeled and ears open in the meantime.Photo credit: MotorTrend - MotorTrendPhoto credit: MotorTrend - MotorTrendPhoto credit: MotorTrend - MotorTrendAdvertisementAdvertisementPhoto credit: MotorTrend - MotorTrendPhoto credit: MotorTrend - MotorTrendPhoto credit: MotorTrend - MotorTrendPhoto credit: MotorTrend - MotorTrendAdvertisementAdvertisementPhoto credit: MotorTrend - MotorTrendPhoto credit: MotorTrend - MotorTrendPhoto credit: MotorTrend - MotorTrendPhoto credit: MotorTrend - MotorTrendAdvertisementAdvertisementPhoto credit: MotorTrend - MotorTrendPhoto credit: MotorTrend - MotorTrendPhoto credit: MotorTrend - MotorTrendPhoto credit: MotorTrend - MotorTrendAdvertisementAdvertisementPhoto credit: MotorTrend - MotorTrendPhoto credit: MotorTrend - MotorTrend