ArgentinaVolkswagen is building a new Amarok for South America, and it will not share anything with the Amarok sold in Europe and Australia. The regional truck, due in 2027, uses an architecture developed by SAIC’s Maxus commercial-vehicle arm, replacing the Ford partnership that underpins the current global model.
What Volkswagen is starting from
The donor is the Maxus Interstellar X, a mid-size pickup on sale in China since December 2024 and exported as the Terron 9, LDV Terron 9 and MG U9. Maxus calls its chassis Starbridge, and the Chinese truck is offered with a 2.5-litre turbodiesel or a dual-motor electric drivetrain with a 102 kWh battery.
Volkswagen says this is not a rebadge. It is handling the design, chassis tuning, testing and the adaptation work for local markets, and the Amarok will get its own engine range rather than the Chinese truck’s. Technical specifications have not been released. Volkswagen has confirmed that an electrified version is in the plan and that the V6 offered in the current truck does not carry over.
Where it gets built
Production goes to General Pacheco, the plant north of Buenos Aires that has built every South American Amarok since 2009, more than 770,000 of them. Volkswagen is putting $580m into the site for the changeover, covering production technology, assembly-line changes, digital processes and energy efficiency. The company describes the truck as “developed, designed and produced in South America, for South America.”
Three separate Amaroks
The result is three parallel vehicles wearing the same badge. The Amarok currently built in Argentina is a development of the 2009 original. The global second-generation Amarok, sold in Europe, Australia and South Africa, is built by Ford in Silverton alongside the Ranger it shares a platform with, and Volkswagen says that arrangement continues. The 2027 regional truck is the third branch, and the first Volkswagen pickup to start from Chinese engineering.
SAIC Maxus's mid-size pickup, on sale in China since December 2024 and exported as the Terron 9, LDV Terron 9 and MG U9. It is offered with a 2.5-litre turbodiesel or a dual-motor electric drivetrain with a 102 kWh battery, and Volkswagen has chosen its Starbridge architecture for the next South American Amarok.
