Volkswagen’s electric vehicle push may include a pickup as the company is “actively looking” at the idea.
Speaking to Business Insider, Volkswagen Group of America CEO Scott Keogh said electric trucks are the “chance of a lifetime” because “electrification gives you a reset moment.”
As he explained, truck buyers have been extremely loyal to Chevrolet, Ram, and Ford. However with the switch to electric pickups, customers seem to be more open-minded and this allows other companies to enter the segment and be competitive. Keogh specifically mentioned Rivian, but they’re not the only company disrupting the truck segment as Tesla has reportedly received more than a million reservations for the Cybertruck.
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While Volkswagen is looking at the possibility of building an electric pickup for North America, nothing has been decided and there’s no word on when the model could arrive if it eventually gets approved. That could be an issue as rivals aren’t sitting on the sidelines as the Rivian R1T and GMC Hummer EV are already in production.
Furthermore, the Ford F-150 Lightning will be launched later this month and be followed by the Chevrolet Silverado EV in the spring of 2023. Not to be outdone, GMC is working on an electric Sierra while a Ram 1500 EV concept is slated to be unveiled later this year.
As a result, the window for the “reset moment” appears to be narrowing as heavyweights are gearing up to launch their own electric trucks. If Volkswagen misses that window, it could be significantly harder for their potential electric pickup to stand out.
Of course, only time will tell if Volkswagen greenlights an electric pickup. Regardless of what happens, the company has been eyeing the American truck segment for years as the Atlas Tanoak concept debuted at the 2018 New York Auto Show.
