Volkswagen Trademarks a Pickup Name, But Is It Worth Pulling the Trigger on Another Midsize?

Amarok. The worst sounds mystical, conjuring up images of hairy Ice Age beasts and the grizzled 24-year-old grandfathers who once hunted them. Amarok also refers to a midsize Volkswagen pickup that’s built in Argentina and sold overseas, a pickup the automaker now wants to trademark in the United States.

Is this the first step towards Volkswagen — or a partner — joining the midsize pickup fray in America, or simply a “just in case” exercise? Volkswagen’s not saying. However, looking at the overall midsize pickup segment, is there really a case to be made for a new player, especially when there’s already a Ford Ranger on the way?

The trademark application, noticed by Motor Authority, carries a filing date of November 22, 2017, and comes a few months after an intriguing report. In late August of last year, a source told Wall Street Journal that Volkswagen was engaged in tentative talks with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles concerning the possible joint production of light utility vehicles.

FCA, doing what it does best, made the first overtures. Of particular interest to FCA was a small commercial van and a midsize pickup. The automaker already builds the Fiat-based Ram ProMaster, but you won’t find a Ram badge anywhere near a midsize pickup — a product gap that’ll leave it the odd Detroiter out when the Ranger arrives for 2019. Meanwhile, FCA burned through a pile of development cash with the expensive redesigns (and retoolings) needed for the next-generation 2018 Jeep Wrangler and 2019 Ram 1500.

Volkswagen, of course, does have a midsize pickup, and has since 2010. We haven’t heard anything about how the FCA-VW date went, so there’s no telling if this romance will yield offspring. Any Amarok sold in the U.S., or any badge-engineered vehicle based on it, will need a U.S. production site to avoid the dreaded Chicken Tax.

The thing is, after an impressive ramp-up in 2016, the midsize pickup segment isn’t performing all that hot. With five entries — the Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon, Toyota Tacoma, Nissan Frontier, and Honda Ridgeline — growth isn’t what you’d expect for a utility segment. Full-size pickups are truly hot, spurred by ever-higher trim levels and sky-high incentives, while lower-margin midsizers have a harder time making their case to would-be buyers.

Tacoma sales rose 10.9 percent in December, year-over-year, with the calendar year showing a 3.4 percent increase over 2016. The Tacoma, with extra production capacity coming online soon, is still the one to beat. In contrast, the only other midsizer making gains last year was the lower-volume Colorado, which saw sales rise 2.1 percent in December. Total sales for 2017 were 3.9 percent higher than 2016. However, its Canyon twin slipped 14.9 percent last month, and 14.3 percent over the full year.

Frontier sales fell 3.1 percent, year-over-year, in December, closing out the calendar with a 14.5-percent drop for 2017. As for the unibody Honda Ridgeline, which debuted in June 2016, year-over-year sales amounted to a 27.4-percent drop last month. Only the fact that Honda started selling the thing in mid-year helped the model post a year-to-date increase.

What’s the bigger picture here? The midsize pickup segment posted growth of 1.6 percent in 2017. That’s heading in the right direction, but not at a rapid clip. Only two out of the five models have any forward traction, suggesting a segment with limited growth potential. Also, the Ranger arrives later this year with a familiar and well-loved name, ready to poach buyers from the other five.

It’s not the friendliest landscape out there. Should VW or FCA brass decide to join the market, you can bet there’ll be dissenters among the ranks.

[Image: Volkswagen]