If you are keen on buying an outgoing version of the Volkswagen Amarok, you’d better get in quick.
That’s because the popular pick-up is in runout ahead of the arrival of the new second-generation model, and the remaining stock is already on Australian soil.
Volkswagen has received its final shipment of Amaroks before the new version goes on sale in the second quarter of next year, and they are expected to be snapped up fast.
Speaking with CarsGuide this week, Volkswagen Australia Commercial Vehicles director Ryan Davies confirmed that the last shipment of first-gen Amaroks had landed Down Under.
“Everything’s landed for Amarok. The last cars are here. I mean, the last cars, theoretically, are being finalised at Walkinshaw this week or the week after. So we’re done with what’s going to turn up to Australia, it’s now just about getting it out into dealers hands and customers hands,” he said.
As Mr Davies mentioned, some of the final batch of Australian-market Amaroks have been allocated for Melbourne-based tuning and re-manufacturing outfit Walkinshaw to convert into the flagship W-series utes.
The W series range – for Walkinshaw – includes the W580S and W580X that use a 190kW/580Nm 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 diesel, good for a 0-100km/h dash of 7.3 seconds. These hardcore grades rival the Nissan Navara Warrior and Ford Ranger Raptor in the performance off-road ute segment.
Mr Davies doesn’t anticipate having much stock of the old Amarok left on dealerships by the time the new one arrives in a few months.
“I think that will sell out rather seamlessly on the current car, but we probably won’t be launching the new Amarok until April.”
The new-gen Amarok is based on the Ford Ranger’s T6.2 architecture and shares most of its underpinnings, but it differentiates itself via its exterior and interior design.
The original Amarok has been a success for Volkswagen in Australia, but it has never reached the sales highs of the Ranger and the Toyota HiLux that dominate the new-vehicle sales charts.
The second-gen Amarok lands in April.
Supply has been a significant issue for VW for some time, and that was made worse by the ongoing parts and semi-conductor shortages. So far this year, VW has sold 3407 Amarokes, about 50 per cent off the same period in 2021.
However, Mr Davies said he believes the new Amarok will sell more than the outgoing version, but highlighted the lack of supply for the first-gen model.
“We’ve only been impeded by ourselves in the last couple of years where we could have sold more. I mean, the most Amaroks we’ve ever sold is just shy of 10,000 I think in one year.
“So I definitely think that we’ll sell 10,000 of the new one. How much further beyond that I guess remains to be seen on how well the customers warm to it. But I think there’s huge potential for the new car.”
Keyword: Going, going! Volkswagen Amarok expected to sell out soon ahead of second-gen arrival in April