New VW Amarok will only be made in SA

The initial misunderstanding about two plants being designated for production has been cleared up in favor of Ford’s Silverton facility.

Ford’s Silverton Plant outside of Pretoria has been confirmed as the only factory given the task of assembling the newcomer, according to Wolfsburg’s President for Latin America, who cleared up any confusion regarding the matter.

The alleged misunderstanding stems from Volkswagen’s $250 million investment in its General Pacheco Plant in Argentina for the production of the Taos SUV as well as the Amarok instead of the hotly contested half-ton Tarok anticipated to replace the dated Saveiro. In a statement obtained by motor1.com Argentina, Pablo Di Si said that a portion of the investment would be used to redesign the first-generation Amarok in 2024, which would continue to be produced at the same plant for some time to come.

Also read: New body shop equipped at Ford Silverton plant for next-gen Ranger

“The redesign has already been defined and I can tell you that it is very balanced: neither very aggressive nor not very aggressive,” a translated version of the statement of the read.

Furthermore, according to Di Si, due to the three-year-old joint venture between the Blue Oval and Volkswagen, the new Amarok, which is based on the same T6.2 platform as the new Ford Ranger, Everest, Ranger Raptor, Bronco, and Bronco Raptor, won’t be produced or sold in Latin America at all.

Amarok production has previously been split between General Pacheco, which ironically produced models for South Africa, and the Hannover Commercial Vehicle factory in Germany, which primarily served the European market.

“For the moment, we are not going to bring the new generation Amarok manufactured in South Africa [to Argentina]. The agreement with Ford to produce the new generation of the Amarok in South Africa is part of a global agreement that covers light commercial and electric vehicles,” the statement carried on.

“In the case of Argentina, the project [didn’t get approval of both parties]. The agreement with Ford is going very well, but [Volkswagen Argentina] has decided to go different route”.

The second generation Amarok will arrive in South Africa toward the end of this year as one of only three initial countries to receive it, along with Austria and Luxembourg. It is scheduled to go on sale in Latin America next year. Final specifications and costs should be anticipated soon.

Source: Charl Bosch/TheCitizen 

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