VW teases all-new Amarok bakkie; Daimler Truck launched on Frankfurt Stock Exchange – In the driver’s seat with Jarryd Neves

Volkswagen gives sneak peek of upcoming Amarok; Daimler Truck launched on Frankfurt Stock Exchange; Toyota halts production at two Japanese factories.

Published on:

13 Dec 2021, 5:00 am

By Jarryd Neves, Motoring correspondent

Hot on the heels of the Ford Ranger announcement, the German carmaker has teased the market with its second-generation Amarok. Set to debut in 2022, Wolfsburg's bakkie – which shares a platform with the Ranger – will be built alongside the Ford at the American brand's Silverton plant.

Although the teaser images are somewhat vague, it's clear the new model is a departure from the current Amarok's conservative styling. Since 2010, the VW bakkie has racked up global sales figures of over 800,000; no mean feat for a bakkie not sold in the United States; it is the biggest market in the world for the utilitarian body style.

Currently, the Amarok holds the title of South Africa's priciest pick-up. The V6 Extreme derivative retails for R1,034,700. Volkswagen lauds the new model, developed in Australia and Europe, as a premium pick-up. Powertrains are likely to be shared across the Ranger and Amarok line-ups, so expect the VW to retain V6 power as an option.

The new Amarok will be built alongside the Ford Ranger, at the Blue Oval's Silverton plant. Upgrades to the facility will add 1,200 jobs.

Daimler Truck started trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange this week, as the company decoupled from former parent company Daimler AG. The company remarked that the listing "symbolises Daimler Truck's embarkment into unrestricted entrepreneurial independence", calling it the most important milestone in the brand's history.

With an eye on the future, the newly listed company has several plans to arrive at the door of zero-emission transportation. Daimler Truck reveals the development of fuel-cell and battery vehicles is to be accelerated, with a goal for battery and fuel-cell trucks to make up 60% of sales by the end of the decade.

While battery-powered vehicles will be ideal for light and heavy distribution trucking (delivery vehicles, shorter distances), hydrogen-based fuel-cell drive will "be indispensable in the CO2-neutral long-distance truck transport of the future".

Battery and fuel cell vehicles are to account for up to 60% of sales by 2030, according to Daimler Truck.

The ongoing semiconductor chip crisis continues to plague motor manufacturers. Automotive giant Toyota is the latest to crack under pressure. Reuters reports the Tokyo-based brand has had to temporarily cease production at two factories in Japan.

The world's largest carmaker had hoped to return to normal production in December, after facing numerous manufacturing interruptions. A company spokesperson says Toyota is expecting a fall in vehicle production owing to the halt, but will retain its target to produce nine million vehicles worldwide during the financial year.

Reuters also reports that Toyota has had to expand the production suspension with an estimated 9,000 vehicles cut from the company's production output. Toyota acknowledges this will affect production of Lexus and Toyota Land Cruiser models.

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