As reported earlier, Volkswagen is working on a slew of SUVs for global markets and India. The German carmaker is now developing another SUV which will first see a market launch in Australia. While all these models will be based on the high-tech MQB and other monocoque-based underpinnings, this all-new SUV will be based on a traditional ladder-frame layout shared with the Amarok pick-up-truck. The Amarok pick-up is a popular model in international markets and has won multiple accolades.
VW hinted at a possible seven-seat SUV based on the pick-up at the facelifted vehicle’s debut in May this year. As per reports, the plan for an Amarok-based SUV has been confirmed by Volkswagen Group Australia though the project is yet to be greenlighted by senior officials in Germany.
Volkswagen isn’t the first automaker to follow this development (pick-up based SUV) process, with Chevrolet and Ford having followed the same process to develop the Trailblazer and the Endeavour. The Trailblazer is based on the Colorado pick-up sold in international markets whilst the Endeavour shares its underpinnings with the Ranger pick-up. The new ladder-frame SUV is likely to draw power from the newly introduced 3.0-litre V6 diesel motor from the facelifted Amarok alongside other powertrains. It will also share the 4WD architecture from the pick-up.
Australia is likely to be one of the first markets for the new seven-seat SUV before being launched in other markets. As with the Amarok, the new SUV could also be offered in both left and right-hand drive configurations and could also make its way to emerging markets such as South America and some Asian countries with India also being a possibility.
With Toyota, Ford, Chevrolet and Mitsubishi already having a pick-up based SUV in their line-ups, Nissan along with VW are also expected to join the seven-seat SUV fray with an SUV based on the Navara pick-up.
The Amarok-based SUV will become the latest in a string of SUVs set to debut in the coming years as part of a massive global SUV offensive from Volkswagen. The automaker has planned new SUVs across multiple segments based on the Group’s MQB and MLB platforms with the smallest offering to be the production version of the next-gen Polo based T-Cross concept.
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