VW weighs pickup for U.S.

Volkswagen is seriously considering launching a pickup truck model in the United States, a top company executive has revealed. The pickup would be part of VW’s efforts to expand its product lineup in the U.S.
A VW pickup for the truck-hungry U.S. market has been rumored for years, but it looks as though the pieces could finally be falling into place. VW is currently weighing whether to sell its smaller van models in the U.S., and a pickup truck could factor into that decision.

“Pickup trucks are a dominating segment,” while there’s also a trend in the U.S. toward compact European vans, Eckhard Scholz, head of the light commercial vehicle unit, told Bloomberg. “We’re looking at both options intensively.”

VW’s Amarok pickup, which is sold in several global markets, could be under consideration for U.S. sales. Although smaller than the market-leading Ford F-Series, the Amarok would lineup closely with the Chevrolet Colorado and Toyota Tacoma. VW has previously stated that the Amarok is too small for the U.S. market, but the recent success of Chevy’s all-new Colorado could be changing the automaker’s mind.

VW’s U.S. sales dipped 10 percent to 366,970 units last year, with the automaker looking for ways to reverse that sales trend. VW will soon add a new SUV to its lineup, but a pickup truck could go a long way in shoring up its sales. However, no official decision has been made at this time.