Electric Volkswagen Amarok could preference payload over towing capacity

The latest model from Volkswagen and Ford’s commercial vehicle partnership is the new T6.2 Ranger-based Amarok, and it appears the companies have baked in electric capability for their dual cab utes.

Without getting too specific, VW Aus said we’re likely to see an electric Amarok in the second half of the decade, potentially as soon 2026.

Ford America saw sense with its groundbreaking F-150 Lightning to chase maximum towing capacity, with 4.5-tonnes of the stuff. Senior member of VW’s global product management team, Petr Sulc, told Wheels at Amarok’s global launch he agreed that is the way forward for an electric Amarok.

But Australian requirements may differ, and with Oz being Amarok's most significant market, we'll have a big say in the final product.

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“We’d like to see the payload as close to the current [Amarok] as possible and I think with towing capacity, I don’t really have a good feel for what that could be”, Director of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Australia, Ryan Davies, told Wheels.

Naturally, if competitive payload, range and towing capacity are achievable in a reasonably-priced package, that’d be ideal – but commercial and small business operators in Australia are likely to need payload from an EV ute more regularly than huge towing capacity in Davies’ eyes.

And although the F-150 Lightning is still capable of lugging 1014 kilograms around in its tub, a 4500kg towing capacity was the main goal.

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VW Australia seems to be happy to sacrifice 500-1000kg of absolute tugging ability if that means a payload in line with the current Amarok’s ability. That would mean between 1100-1200kg in the tub without trouble. The latest Amarok is certified to tow a maximum of 3500kg.

“I think we want to see towing capacity as close to between 2.5-3 tonnes as possible. I don’t know that you’re gonna hit that three tonne number – our requests would be two-and-a-half, three, and whether we can achieve that is another story.

“That’ll be a compromise until we get batteries that can really go for, say, 800-1000km from a charge, and then you can generate a driving range of say 400-500km [while towing]. That’s preferable”, Davies added.