Volkswagen considering full-size ute to take on Chevrolet Silverado - report

A full-size pickup truck could join the Volkswagen range in the States in the not-too-distant future.

According to Reuters, the automaker is planning a drastic shakeup of Volkswagen Group of America (VGA), which oversees the firm's operations in the USA and Canada. 

A source has told the news wire the company is planning to fire Kjell Gruner, VGA's CEO since December 2024. He will reportedly be replaced by Marco Schubert, who is currently Audi's global head of sales and marketing, as well as a member of the Volkswagen Group's extended executive committee.

As part of the shakeup, Volkswagen's global brand chief Thomas Schaefer is said to be pushing for a full-size ute to compete with the likes of the Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra, Ram 1500, and Toyota Tundra.

Full-size pickups account for around 20 per cent of sales in the US, and all models enjoy healthy margins. By contrast, recent tariff changes in the US have hit Volkswagen hard, with the company's only locally produced models being the Atlas and Atlas Sport large SUVs.

Although the automaker is keen to have the new ute on sale by 2030, the source says Volkswagen hasn't decided whether to develop the full-size ute itself or partner up with an automaker that already has one already in their lineup. 

Given Volkswagen's current circumstances, the tight timeline, and the likely billion dollar price tag of going it alone on a product that has little appeal outside of North America, it's likely the German automaker will seek a partner. 

The most logical choice is Ford as the two already share a number of vehicles and platforms. Most pertinently the second-generation Amarok is based on the Ford Ranger, and is built by Ford in South Africa.

Other shared vehicles include the Ford Transit Custom/Volkswagen Transporter, and Volkswagen Caddy/Ford Transit Connect. Ford also uses Volkswagen's MEB platform as the basis of its Europe-only Explorer and Capri electric vehicles.

Other partner options include GM, Stellantis and Toyota. A collaboration with GM seems unlikely as the General entered into a partnership with Hyundai in 2024, and Hyundai is reportedly set to use the next-generation Chevrolet Colorado as the basis for a new ute in Latin America.

If Volkswagen goes down the partnership route, it will be hoping it works out better than its last American collaboration, the ill-fated Routan. Basically a lightly restyled and rebadged Chrysler Voyager -- sold in the US as the Town & Country -- the Routan people mover sold so poorly, Volkswagen ended the production contract two years early in 2012.

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