VW Australia had significant sway in pushing for a second-generation Amarok ute, and in ensuring that it drove like a Volkswagen, despite its Ford underpinnings.
Rolling into Australian VW dealers from April 2023, the new-gen Amarok has been spun off Ford’s T6.2 platform that underpins the new Ranger and Everest, as part of a wide-ranging partnership between the two automotive giants.
VW got involved in 2019, implanting a team of more than 20 people in Melbourne to work with Ford’s design and engineering team to develop the new Amarok.
Volkswagen Australia product marketing manager James Thompson said that the Australian outpost of VW has “huge sway” globally when it comes to the Amarok, adding that Australia makes up a significant 10 per cent slice of the Amarok’s 830,000 global sales to date.
“For a market of our size, [that] is pretty amazing. But we’ve really led the charge on this. So we got involved kind of early 2019 in terms of having the first renders of the current generation and getting involved with a lot of customer focus groups across Australia in terms of the styling of the vehicle,” he said at the international first drive in South Africa.
“And we’ve had a huge impact with the design team that’s been in Melbourne for three years or so, having been in regular contact with our head office, going through possible specifications, styling and stuff. So I think the Australian market has really been a key driver behind what we see out there today.”
Mr Thompson said there were challenges explaining to the top brass at Volkswagen Commercial global headquarters in Hanover, Germany the nuances of the Australian ute segment, but that ultimately they understood the need for more than just a basic workhorse.
“You know the dual-cab market in Australia is very unique. But I think one of the challenges we always faced was explaining the Australian market to Hanover and that people want that level of sophistication in a ute and I think you see now with cars we’ve driven today, you know that interior finish, that build quality, the seats, that touch and feel, that there’s a luxury, real premium ute.”
While VW’s involvement started well into development of the new Ranger, Mr Thompson said it was a collaboration in which VW wanted to ensure the new Amarok would have specific Volkswagen qualities.
“I think what’s really important to understand is that this project used both utes but the Amarok is a benchmark of drivability and driving dynamics. I think if you look at what Amarok brought to the market, it brought that driveability that had never been in that market before, it brought V6 power that hadn’t really been apart from Nissan a long time ago. It brought rear disc brakes, it brought a pallet between wheel arches.
“There was a lot of benchmarking that I think, if it hadn’t existed, then this ute doesn’t exist in its form. So I think it’s a collaboration between the two parties.”
He added that those Amarok qualities from the first generation were “100 per cent non-negotiable” when it came to the collaboration with Ford.
“You know, if we look at our customer feedback, if we look at our deep dive data, we know why our customers like our ute. And to have a new generation and just throw those out the window would have been absolute madness. It was so important that it drives as well as the old vehicle.”
While VW engineers worked closely with the Ford team on elements like steering and suspension, Mr Thompson emphasised that they also worked independently to ensure that specific Volkswagen tune.
“I think one of the early things that was very important was that the Volkswagen drove like a Volkswagen. And I think even the Ford team said that there would be significant differences between the way the vehicles drive.
“The one thing that I noticed today was there’s a real difference in the steering of the vehicles.
“Same with this suspension, you want that Volkswagen planted feel. I think that’s something that customers expect.”
Keyword: Volkswagen Australia "led the charge" on new Amarok ute