Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles says it delivered nearly 500 000 light commercial vehicles to customers across the world in the 2019, representing a year-on-year fall of 1,6 percent.
So, how many of those came in the shape of the Amarok? Well, VW says some 72 513 units of the bakkie were sold worldwide in 2019 (which works out to a year-on-year decline of 10,4 percent).
And in South Africa? Well, a spot of rudimentary maths reveals VW SA registered 2 596 examples the Amarok – which, it should be noted, is offered locally in double-cab form only – over the year. That’s down on the 2 972 units sold in South Africa in 2018.
For the record, the commercial vehicles arm’s global total for 2019 comprised 192 455 units from the T series, 155 136 units in Caddy form and 70 974 units from the Crafter family, plus the aforementioned Amarok units.
Interestingly, VW says it registered some 20 700 commercial vehicles in Africa during 2019, representing an increase of 7,4 percent.
In March 2019, Volkswagen signed a contract with Ford for the Blue Oval brand to develop a successor to the Amarok. The next version of VW’s bakkie will thus be based on the next-generation Ranger, with the first examples built under the broad alliance expected to hit the market “as early as 2022”.
