- Reuters reported August 7, 2026 that VW plans to build a new pickup truck at its Chattanooga, Tennessee plant for the US market, with a reveal expected before 2030.
- The truck may involve a Ford co-development deal that extends the existing VW-Ford alliance behind the Amarok, which shares a platform with the Ford Ranger.
- Marco Schubert, Audi’s former sales and marketing managing board member, will replace Kjell Gruner as CEO of Volkswagen Group of America. VW declined to confirm either development.
Volkswagen is planning a pickup truck for the United States, Reuters reported on August 7, 2026. The truck would be assembled at VW’s Chattanooga, Tennessee plant and could come from a co-development deal with Ford. VW declined to comment.
What the VW US pickup truck might look like
Reuters didn’t specify a name or configuration, but the expected architecture points toward the mid-size segment. VW’s Amarok, sold in Europe, South Africa, and Latin America, shares a platform with the Ford Ranger under a commercial vehicle alliance VW and Ford announced in June 2019. Whether the US-bound truck uses that same platform isn’t confirmed.
The Chattanooga plant currently builds the Atlas SUV lineup and the ID.4. Adding a truck there avoids the cost of a new facility. VW hasn’t offered a pickup in the United States since it discontinued the Rabbit Pickup in 1983.
What VW’s US sales numbers say about the timing
VW holds 4% of the US market, per Reuters. Total sales fell 13% between 2024 and 2025. Q1 2026 dropped a further 16.1% year over year before Q2 recovered 24.9%, leaving the first half of 2026 just 2.3% ahead of the same six months in 2025.
The pickup segment is where the margins are in American automotive retail. Ford sold more than 700,000 F-Series trucks in 2024. Mid-size models like the Toyota Tacoma and Chevrolet Colorado regularly clear 250,000 units a year. For a brand with 4% market share, a credible truck entry is one of the few moves that can shift total volume by more than a rounding error.
How a pickup fits VW’s plan to cut its lineup in half
Last month, VW announced plans to shrink its global product lineup by roughly half. A new US truck looks contradictory. But the cuts are aimed at lower-volume European models. A truck built on a shared platform at an existing US plant doesn’t carry the capital cost of a clean-sheet program.
The Amarok provides the template: VW absorbed development cost by partnering with Ford rather than funding it alone. Whether that arrangement repeats here is unconfirmed, but it’s the economic logic the Reuters report implies.
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Marco Schubert named Volkswagen North America CEO
Reuters also reports that Marco Schubert will take over as CEO of Volkswagen Group of America and Volkswagen Brand North America, replacing Kjell Gruner. Gruner was appointed to the role in December 2024.
Schubert has more than 30 years in the industry, with over 20 at Audi, per VW Group’s website. His most recent title was managing board member for sales and marketing at Audi. He’s an internal VW Group appointment, not an outside hire. If Reuters’ timeline is accurate, Gruner’s tenure would clock in at roughly 20 months.
What’s confirmed, and what isn’t
Nothing. VW declined to comment on both the pickup truck and the leadership change when Car and Driver reached out. No official announcement exists for either development as of August 8, 2026. The truck has no model name, no confirmed specs, and no production date. The earliest credible public reveal, based on the “before end of decade” framing in the Reuters report, sits somewhere in the 2027–2029 window.
There’s nothing to order or configure yet.
