Upcoming Volkswagen Amarok to be an LDV, MG, but there's a catch

The first-generation Volkswagen Amarok is finally being replaced… again.

The Volkswagen-developed ute was already replaced in markets such as ours with a vehicle based on the Ford Ranger, but has continued to be produced in Argentina – from where our market previously received the ute – and received a facelift in 2024.

Volkswagen will now replace this model in 2027 with a new ute “from South America, for South America”, which will continue to be built in the Pacheco, Argentina plant.

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The company says it’s investing US$580 million (~A$957,000) in production technology and site infrastructure for the new ute, which has been “developed specifically for the South American market”.

Instead of building its “global” Amarok here, however, Motor1 Argentina reports it will be based on the Maxus Interstellar X from Chinese giant SAIC Motor, arriving in Australia soon as the LDV Terron 9 and MG U9.

Indeed, the single teaser image released by Volkswagen – alongside a press release that doesn’t mention the SAIC Motor tie-up – shows a body closely resembling the Maxus/LDV/MG utes, if with a unique face.

“At VW we have a historic strategic alliance with the SAIC Group in China. This new project is a joint development where many technologies are shared,” said VW Argentina CEO Marcellus Puig in translated remarks reported by the publication.

“It is normal for these joint developments to take place between VW and SAIC. In this case, the cooperation was carried out in the development of the entire technical part of the Amarok South America project.”

The new ute’s platform can support traditional combustion powertrains, as well as hybrid and electric powertrains. The latter will be offered in Australia in the LDV eTerron 9.

The SAIC Motor ute is also considerably larger than the first-generation Amarok, measuring 150mm longer, 51mm wider and 1mm taller on a 203mm longer wheelbase.

Motor1 also notes it uses a monocoque structure with a sub-frame, in contrast with the more traditional body-on-frame construction of the Amarok.

Up front, it uses double-wishbone suspension, while at the rear there’s a choice of a live axle with leaf springs or independent multi-link rear suspension. The electric eTerron 9 also features air suspension.

The Terron 9 and U9 will be sold here with a turbo-diesel 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine producing 164kW of power. While neither LDV Australia nor MG Australia have published a torque figure, SAIC Motor in China has confirmed this engine out-punches many rivals with a figure of 520Nm.

The electric eTerron 9 is built in both single-motor rear-wheel drive and dual-motor all-wheel drive guises, producing 200kW and 325kW respectively. Power is supplied by a 102kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, with up to 430km of claimed WLTP electric range.

Volkswagen says that by developing and producing the new Argentinian Amarok in South America, the company will be able to ensure sufficient supply of the Ranger-based Amarok for global markets out of South Africa.

The company also already has an extensive partnership with SAIC Motor. It has two joint-venture partners in China, with SAIC Motor being one of them. This joint venture was established in 1984.

While not quite as old as this partnership, the current Argentinian Amarok is no spring chicken. It entered production back in 2010, and since then the Pacheco plant has produced more than 770,000 Amaroks.