That VW pickup dealers have dreamed about? They'll have to keep waiting

LOS ANGELES — Fulfilling the decades-old desire of Volkswagen's U.S. dealers to have a pickup to sell is now in the hands of a 53-year-old native Argentinian. On the job running the company's North America operations for just over two months, he believes that desire is valid.

But getting from "we want" to "we have" may prove a challenge for Pablo Di Si, the new head of VW's newly profitable North American region — just as it did for his predecessors.

Di Si believes any new pickup that VW potentially brings to market "needs to be electrified," but Thomas Schäfer, newly installed global head of the Volkswagen brand, says the specially designed "Rugged SUV" electric vehicle platform being developed for the nascent Scout brand is not in VW's future, at least not in this decade.

"At the moment, our focus on the lineup doesn't include it," Schäfer, who started his new job three months ago, told a small group of journalists at an off-site roundtable discussion before the Los Angeles Auto Show. "At the moment, we have a clear lineup all the way through the second half of this decade. Then again, in the American market, if you don't play in certain segments, then you have to stay in a certain market share area. But the question of [VW's new Rugged SUV platform] is not our priority at the moment."

Schäfer's revelation is a blow to dealer hopes to finally have a pickup in their U.S. lineups after asking for one for decades. And while it doesn't directly contradict with what former VW of America CEO and now Scout Motors CEO Scott Keogh told Automotive News in May — "This platform could, could provide an opportunity for other group vehicles. Yes. I want to be clear on this thing: This platform could definitely provide an opportunity for non-Scout vehicles" — it does mean that it won't be anytime soon.

Yet Di Si is undeterred.

"What are the relevant segments in the U.S.? SUVs and pickups. Are we going to have a pickup? I will try. Do we have one now? No," Di Si said. "Right now, my focus is on strengthening the SUV portfolio. I will address pickups at the right time, but right now, I have other issues to tackle."

Dealer John Luciano remains patient as Di Si settles into his new role.

"VW dealers need a truck in our lineup, and Pablo recognizes that," said Luciano, owner of Street VW in Amarillo, Texas, and a former dealer council chairman. "He did wonderful things in Brazil, so we need to give him time. But we'll take any truck at this point — gas, hybrid, electric. We need to be in those segments to compete with other brands, and Pablo and his team know that."

Di Si, who headed up VW's Latin American region before taking over North America on Sept. 1, spoke lovingly about the Tarok, the Latin America-developed compact unibody pickup concept shown at the 2019 New York auto show. The budget-friendly concept took advantage of VW's global platform strategy to essentially use the parts bin to craft a Tiguan-sized all-wheel-drive pickup with a transformable bed perfectly suited for surfers in Brazil to carry their boards, Di Si explained.

"That was my baby," Di Si told Automotive News. He said in his early meetings with VW dealers in the U.S., the Tarok has come up as a possibility for the market. "It's on us. I take care of VW, and we have a huge and great portfolio of SUVs," he said. "There's no pickup here — yet. But time will tell. I think we have the knowledge. I think the segment is relevant. And we're going to play the game and see where that kind of takes us."

In additional comments to Automotive News and other media in attendance, Di Si and Schäfer talked about the automaker's ramped-up localization push in North America following passage in August of the Inflation Reduction Act. Di Si said his experiences in VW's Latin American region reinforced how vital it is to develop and build vehicles in the markets in which they are sold.

"I believe in local knowledge. In order to have a successful region, whether in Latin America or in North America, we will localize more talent, whether it's engineering or digitalization," Di Si said, recalling his success in getting the VW Nivus developed in Brazil and adopted in other regions. "The German board wants us to do more here."

Di Si pointed to the automaker's agreement with Canada to secure mineral supplies for North American battery and EV production, and said the automaker's focus will be to localize production of electric utilities in North America. Plans for an Atlas-sized three-row EV are in the works — a vehicle expected to at first accompany then eventually replace Atlas production at the company's plant in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Schäfer said VW will likely in 2023 review whether to expand production of its just-launched ID Buzz retro-styled minivan from Europe to North America, where demand is also strong for the modern EV microbus. But the company would need to sell "50,000 or 60,000" ID Buzz vans per year in North America to support localizing production.

Di Si said he is focusing his first efforts on making the automaker's captive finance arm, Volkswagen Credit, a closer partner with U.S. dealers.

"We have a good bank. It needs to be more competitive. When you look at other companies, their cost of funding is cheaper," Di Si said. "I've done this before. I went through the same journey in Latin America. We're going to be 100 percent aligned with the dealers, I tell you that right now."