Future Models - Volkswagen 2010 Amarok

VW pick-up set for late 2010

95 per cent true: The VW RPU Concept is close to production ready.

Volkswagen’s HiLux rival to feature a wide range of variants

3 March 2009

By BYRON MATHIOUDAKIS

VOLKSWAGEN will roll out a range of one-tonne pick-ups by the end of next year to take on the Toyota HiLux and Nissan Navara.

Scheduled to make its international debut in the last quarter of this year in South America, the production RPU – Volkswagen’s internal codename meaning ‘Robust Pick-Up’ – will be made in General Pacheco, Argentina, with other sites thought to be following soon afterwards.

Australia is set to be a ‘top four’ market for the new pick-up, along with South America (and Brazil in particular), South East Asia and South Africa.

According to Volkswagen, Australia has been an active member of its business case almost from the beginning.

The production RPU will be close to the RPU Concept that debuted at the IAA Commercial vehicle expo in Hanover, Germany, in September last year, and which is also one of the headline acts at the Volkswagen stand in Melbourne.

Volkswagen’s director of commercial vehicles for Australia, Philip Clark, said the RPU was about 95 per cent true to the production vehicle.

He revealed to GoAuto that the as-yet unnamed light truck would be available in single and extended-cab designs, as well as two and four-wheel drive.

And although the production RPU will have its own look inside and out, much of the drivetrain will be shared with the T5 Transporter range, which is expected to undergo a substantial revamp at the end of this year.

Whether this means that two-wheel drive versions of the production RPU will be front-wheel drive, or more likely conform to the rear-wheel drive class norm, remains to be seen.

Left: Volkswagen Caddy Maxi Van.

However, Mr Clark confirmed that the chassis would be “brand new” and “never before seen.”

The T5 engines in question will include a range of four and five-cylinder common rail TDI turbo-diesels, probably tied to both six-speed manual and six-speed automatic transmissions.

The company’s acclaimed DSG dual clutch gearbox is also thought to be in the model mix, as Volkswagen says it is keen to be a fuel economy and low-emissions class leader with this vehicle.

Nevertheless, petrol-powered versions will also become available, although no details are available.

“As we move forward, it is not going to be a market for big V6s,” Mr Clark said. “People will want fuel efficiency and low emissions and things like that.”

The launch of the many variants on offer will be staggered over a period of time, as Volkswagen finds its feet in a segment where the production RPU will be a rookie.

“And that is just fine with us,” Mr Clark admitted.

“The last thing we want is the complete model range, in a segment that we have never competed in before, and then you have single cabs and dual cabs, two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive. So we start with dual cab, which is really good for us, and the single cab will be 10 to 12 months away at the most.

“We will sit in the same market segment as the HiLux, Navara … models like that,” he saide, although he would not be more specific about pricing.

“It is still too early, and we are still negotiating,” he said.

“But we would not have gone into it if we weren’t going to be totally market-competitive, because it is one of the most competitive markets going, and to go into it not being market-competitive is just like committing suicide. We’re deadly serious about it.”

However, Mr Clark did rule out getting into the low-priced end of the pick-up market.

“The 4x4 dual cab is the biggest segment at the moment, although the market is changing rapidly. But if you asked me, I’d say that the 4x4 Dual Cab will remain the biggest thing. And that’s the better segment for us. There is no doubt. We won’t be in what you would call the $17,990-single-cab-2WD-driveaway segment at all. But we will be in the dual cab and single cab 4x4 and 4x2 segments.”

He believes Australia is one of Volkswagen’s largest potential markets for the production RPU, adding that Australian advice was sought and acted upon for various aspects of the vehicle.

“I have actually driven the vehicle. (We) were one of the first four countries to drive it, one of the prototypes, and we drove it back-to-back against the competition in Wolfsburg, and it is a good vehicle with plenty of good technology.

“We are really a very influential market … we inputted into things like cab chassis and single cab (models) … because a lot of other markets don’t run cab chassis, they run predominantly dual cabs and are not big on single cabs. South Africa and ourselves were quite strong in that once we went to a single cab then we would also have to have a cab chassis.”

Mr Clark also watered down speculation of a Toyota 4Runner-style production RPU wagon to take on the likes of the Mitsubishi Challenger.

“There is nothing whatsoever developed at the moment that will go down that path, and mainly because of Touareg and other VW people movers … but that’s not to say that in five years time somebody won’t turn around and say ‘let’s make it into a wagon,’” he said.

Volkswagen Australia hopes to at least double its current commercial vehicle sales volume of 5000 units a year once the production RPU comes on stream.

“The pick-up market is the biggest single market in the country bar none, at 200,000, and (we would like to) get a share of that.

“We’ll be the only Europeans in the market, as it looks like there will be no one else going into that market.”

Overall global annual sales projections are likely to hit 100,000 units. Meanwhile, Volkswagen will reveal a significantly facelifted T5 Transporter in the third quarter of this year, with Australian sales scheduled to commence early in 2010.

Look for a restyled nose and a cabin revamp, led by improved comfort and convenience items, along with more safety features.

Under the new-look bonnet will be the latest common-rail direct-injection turbo-diesel engines in four and five-cylinder formats, as well as a revised range of petrol engines, as Volkswagen chases lower fuel consumption and emissions.

One of the rumoured engines is expected to be a 128kW twin-turbo 2.0-litre TDI unit, while Volkswagen’s DSG dual clutch gearbox is likely to become available on some versions.

“It’s important these days to get fuel efficiency out of (commercial vehicles),” Mr Clark said.

“The days of screaming around in a V6 or a V8 or whatever in a workhorse because fuel economy was no big thing are over.”

The T5 range debuted in Australia in 2004, and has remained a consistent seller for Volkswagen Australia.

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