Volkswagen very keen to bring electric Amarok to Australia as soon as available

Volkswagen Australia has stated its determination to bring an electrified version of its second-generation Amarok to our shores if such a vehicle did become available.

The new-gen Amarok, created in partnership with Ford, is set to arrive early next year with a plethora of drivetrains including a 3.0-litre V6 and even a 2.3-litre turbo-petrol option.

However, strict new emissions regulations in Europe look to drive a range of electrified options, with a plug-in hybrid and a fully-electric model with 500km of range on the cards.

Volkswagen Australia commercial vehicles director Ryan Davies told Chasing Cars that such a vehicle would have strong appeal to Australian Amarok buyers, and said the local division would inform head office of its intentions to bring the EV ute here.

“We’d be annoying the hell out of [Volkswagen head office] to get [the electric Amarok],” he said.

VW’s Australian division displayed a slide at a recent media briefing that included an “e-Amarok” in the brand’s future plans with a “TBA” arrival date, but indicated that it would be after 2024.

The presence of an e-Amarok electric variant in Volkswagen planning documents came hot on the heels of a confirmation to Chasing Cars by Amarok global product manager Petr Sulc that the company is investigating bringing an electric Amarok to market as soon as mid-2025.

That is the date at which tough new European emissions restrictions hit diesel-powered utes in Europe, strongly incentivising Volkswagen and pick-up collaboration partner Ford to develop a fully-electric vehicle on the Ranger/Amarok platform by that date.

With Australia being the number-one market by sales volume for the incoming second-generation Amarok, which is due for release in Australia in 2023, Davies said there was “definitely a future for an EV Amarok” in Australia and believed that the European division would be more than open to Australian demands to bring the e-Amarok here.

“I think they’d be pretty keen to understand our position quickly, because of our influence or our importance in the market,” he said.

Amarok product manager Sulc confirmed to Chasing Cars on the Amarok’s recent international launch in South Africa that any electric version would have dual-motor AWD, and that Volkswagen would target a driving range of 500km from a circa-100kWh battery.

The openness of Volkswagen’s head office to Australian calls for an electric Amarok stands in some contrast to the struggles VW has had in bringing its EV passenger cars down under due to lax EV incentives – a position that is being reversed by the current federal government.

Since then, Volkswagen has committed to bringing its ID4 and ID5 midsize electric SUVs to Australia in 2023, and will also introduce the Cupra Born hatchback and Skoda Enyaq midsize SUV through its sibling brands – to say nothing of Audi with its broadening line-up of EVs.