Volkswagen Admits Amarok Would've Died Without The Ford Partnership

Volkswagen and Ford have ironed out all the details about their joint venture that was initially announced at the beginning of 2019. It's a known fact by now the second-generation Amarok due in 2022 will be developed and built by Ford at its Silverton plant in South Africa, based on the same platform that will underpin the future Ranger. What we did not know is the fate of the Amarok would've been much different without the tie-up with the Blue Oval.

In a separate press release issued this week by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, chairman Thomas Sedran, made an important disclosure: "Ultimately it is our customers who will benefit [from the joint venture], as without the cooperation we would not have developed a new Amarok." In other words, the Amarok – which in 2020 is celebrating its 10th anniversary – would've been phased out at the end of this generation had it not been for the deal with Ford.

Beyond the Amarok-Ranger relationship, the collaboration between the two automotive giants will lead to the launch of a Ford-badged city delivery van based on the latest-generation Caddy. It will be built from 2021 in Poland at the factory in Poznań as the Transit Connect where the Caddy 5 is scheduled to enter production in the second half of this year.

In addition, Ford is taking the lead in the "1Ton" project involving light commercial vehicles, while an electric Ford based on VW's MEB platform will be out in 2023. Beyond the development of cars and trucks, the two will work hand in hand on autonomous driving tech with Argo AI.

Ford and VW both wish to point out the cooperation "is in no way a merger and all vehicles are being marketed independently of each other. The Volkswagen/Ford alliance does not include cross-ownership between the companies, which will remain competitors in the marketplace."