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2023 Volkswagen Amarok reveal date confirmed! New Ford Ranger-based ute to be shown soon, and you won't have to wait long before seeing them in Australian showrooms

The new-gen VW Amarok ute will debut in July, before arriving here early in 2023 for customers. (Image credit: Thanos Pappas)

If you’ve been hanging out to see the new-generation Volkswagen Amarok ute, you won’t have to wait much longer - the all-new second-gen VW pick-up truck is set to be revealed in July this year.

Volkswagen Commercial director, Ryan Davies, told CarsGuide the news at a recent event in Sydney - and he provided some juicy new information about the Amarok we’ll be getting in Australia.

“The global reveal of the new Amarok will happen just after mid-year, so in July, and we may see a couple of cars towards the end of year, but only enough to show the media and dealers perhaps. We won’t really get production vehicles arriving through until January or February 2023,” said Mr Davies.

Volkswagen Australia has offered the Amarok in dual-cab only form for years now, and that is likely to continue, according to Mr Davies - so don’t go expecting a $30K single-cab-chassis to rival the Isuzu D-Max SX or Toyota HiLux Workmate.

“All you need to do is look at the market. It’s dual-cab-centric. Single-cab has not been a big part for us since the launch of the Amarok, and we don’t expect it to be a big part. We will be focusing on dual-cab, and the iterations of dual-cab,” he said.

And dual-cab, high-spec models are the ones that have done the best business for VW Australia - so it makes sense that the company will continue to offer a punchy diesel V6 engine. Mr Davies said the current  market share for Amarok V6 is 85 per cent V6 and 15 per cent four-cylinder.

“We have such a history with the V6 - we’re the only one on the market now that has it. We’ve got a lot of buyers out there that will be chomping at the bit to change over to a new V6, or even get the last of the current V6. We’ve got a bit of a cult following in the segment already, definitely more than Ford, that’s for sure.

Outgoing VW Amarok

“It just depends on the engine line-up we have at the end of the day. I think we’ll have a good cross-section of vehicle variants in all segments,” said Mr Davies.

However, that doesn’t mean there won’t be any other changes to the range. Mr Davies indicated that a more work-focused cab-chassis ute could be offered alongside the pick-up version in the new-generation model - something that Ford is also set to offer with the new Ranger, which is a shared model with the second-gen Amarok.

“Cab-chassis is not really us ripping the tub off, it’s typically the customer taking the tub off. So we generally bring them in as dual-cab utes and then the customer will decide if they want to do a fit out or whatever.

“We may have a cab-chassis, we’re still going through that at the moment, whether we need to have a dedicated one, or if we just bring them in with a tub and let the custom do what they will. That keeps it simpler for ordering as well,” he said.

Matt Campbell
Managing Editor - Head of Video
Matt Campbell has been at the forefront of automotive media for more than a decade, working not only on car reviews and news, but also helping manage automotive outputs across print, online, video and audio. After completing his media degree at Macquarie University, Matt was an intern at a major news organisation as part of the motoring team, where he honed his skills in the online automotive reviews and news space. He did such a good job there they put him on full time, and since then he has worked across different automotive media outlets, before starting with CarsGuide in October 2017. At CarsGuide Matt has helped shape the video output of the business, while also playing a key role in management behind the scenes, and helping in-market new car buyers make the right choice by continually evolving CarsGuide's comparison reviews. Driving more than 100 cars a year seemed like a dream to Matt when he first started out, but now it's all just part of the job - a job he loves and plans to stay in for a long time to come. Matt is also an expert in used car values, as he's always on the hunt for a bargain - be it a project beater or a prime example of the breed. He currently owns a 2001 Audi TT quattro and a 2007 Suzuki Jimny JLX.
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