The folks over at Volkswagen South Africa must be positively sick of the question, but that doesn’t stop local VW fans (nor motoring journalists) from repeatedly asking: why isn’t the Saveiro bakkie offered here?
In its latest comments in response to that very query from a Twitter user, the local arm of the Wolfsburg-based automaker interestingly said it was “not yet convinced” of the half-tonne bakkie’s local viability.
“We have considered the Saveiro for our market [but] our research has not yet convinced us of its local viability. This is in light of all production considerations, price and market placement. However, this may change in future,” the brand said.
Of course, the unibody Saveiro sold in South American markets such as Brazil is currently built in left-hand-drive configuration only, which obviously creates something of a stumbling block for VW SA.
And what about the recently revealed Tarok double-cab bakkie concept, which is far larger than the Saveiro but smaller than the Amarok? Well, it’s technically still a concept, although a production version “with barely any changes” is set to be unleashed on the Brazilian market in the near future. Whether it’ll be offered in right-hand-drive, though, also remains to be seen.
Still, in its Facebook page, VW SA said of the Tarok concept: “If it’s brought to life, we’ll look into its viability for our market”.
