Electric Volkswagen Amarok ute successor confirmed

There will be a battery-powered successor to the Volkswagen Amarok in the coming years, a senior company figure has confirmed.

Volkswagen Group of America's Chief Operating Officer Johan De Nysschen has revealed a VW-badged ute would eventually be offered as an electric vehicle (EV).

While the upcoming Amarok isn’t expected to see any kind of electrification in the foreseeable future, the executive confirmed a zero-emissions Volkswagen ute was in the pipeline.

“We will, in the fullness of time, switch 100 per cent from [internal-combustion engined] entries to EVs,” De Nysschen said in a statement issued to US publication Motor Trend.

“And as the VW Group looks at its global product portfolio, this means that successors to popular models such as Atlas and our Amarok truck, will eventually be electrified.”

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While a spokesperson for Volkswagen Australia declined to comment on the possibility of an electric Amarok, it’s believed the statement is the first time an electric Volkswagen ute has been confirmed by a company representative.

The German carmaker has previously downplayed the possibility of the Amarok morphing into a battery-electric vehicle (BEV).

"It's a difficult discussion, to have an Amarok or a similar car using BEV technology,” Volkswagen Group board member for electric mobility Thomas Ulbrich told Autoblog in August 2020.

“We are looking at what Rivian is doing, because normally it is difficult to believe that a car like the Amarok, for example, could be electrified. But, nevertheless, step by step our investigation and research makes us think it becomes more possible,” he said at the time.

“By making this technology more and more robust, an Amarok-type of car would be BEV.”

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But with the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok being based on the next-generation Ford Ranger – and the two automotive giants joining forces to share commercial vehicle platforms – it’s likely the job of electrifying the Amarok is being left to Ford.

The Blue Oval is already pushing ahead with battery-powered versions of the Transit van and F-150 pick-up, and the company has a long-term partnership in place with electric carmaker Rivian.

Before an all-electric Volkswagen ute becomes a reality, it’s likely we’ll see a plug-in hybrid version of the Ranger and Amarok, given Ford has dropped hints regarding the likelihood of a zero-emissions-capable model line-up by 2023.