Three things have to happen for Volkswagen to even consider selling the Volkswagen Amarok in the United States.
1. Ditch the 50-year-old Chicken Tax – the Chicken Tax is a 25% tariff on potato starch, dextrin, brandy, and light trucks imposed in 1963 by the United States under President Lyndon B. Johnson in response to tariffs placed by France and West Germany on importation of U.S. chicken – – Wikipedia
2. Volkswagen has to reevaluate the financial and logistical business case to sell the vehicle here. Remember: the Volkswagen Amarok is not exactly a cheap truck and it would be going up against locally built vehicles like the Chevrolet Colorado and Toyota Tacoma. The cheapest small trucks in North America start at around $18,000. The Volkswagen Amarok (in Germany) bases at about $35,000; granted, that’s for a vehicle that comes with higher end equipment and more standard amenities. Still, that’s more in line with the Honda Ridgeline than a base-model Toyota Tacoma.
3. Chevy. Yep, it depends on the success of the Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon and the updates to Toyota and Nissan’s vehicles as well. I would even add the Honda Ridgeline – but that may vanish soon. If sales for the Colorado are poor, it would indicate the North American market is not ready for something like the Volkswagen Amarok.
This information comes by way of Motor Trend who sat down with Volkswagen’s American CEO Jonathan Browning at the 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show.
“We do not have any plans to introduce a VW pickup in the U.S. market,” Browning said in Los Angeles. “But if there was no chicken tax, that would be a good time to reevaluate that.” – – Motor Trend interview
So, what do you think? I hear good things about the Volkswagen Amarok and I bet you have too. Would you spend more money (full-size truck money) to buy an Amarok?
By the way, if the Federal Government got rid of the Chicken Tax, that would open the doors for foreign automakers to bring in more trucks and vans. I think it would be a good thing as competition forces everyone to up their game while giving the consumer more variety. I could be wrong.
Speaking of the Chevrolet Colorado, here’s a video of its debut at the 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show!
