Next-gen VW Amarok for South America has Chinese roots

When Volkswagen unveiled the next Amarok generation for Brazil in April this year, the local office of Motor1 assumed that it was a rebadged Chinese pickup. It now claims that the truck is none other than the Maxus Interstellar X (see video), albeit switched to a hybrid powertrain.

The China-spec Interstellar X comes equipped with a diesel engine mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission for 224 PS (221 hp / 165 kW). Given Volkswagen’s current electrification strategy in South America, it is unlikely that the company will simply put this diesel version on sale there. Anonymous sources told Motor1 Brazil that it would be a hybrid instead. The details remain to be announced, though.

It’s probably worth mentioning that the Interstellar X has a fully electric variant in China known as the Maxus eTerron 9. It also seems an unlikely candidate for release on the South American market.

We are told that multiple test trucks have already been running on the streets of Argentina wearing thick camo. For all we know, they could be test mules wearing Interstellar X truck bodies on top of a different chassis. Even so, everything points to the new Amarok being a vehicle co-designed with SAIC Group in China. The two companies have a cooperation agreement going, and sourcing an original design from China enables Volkswagen to cut costs greatly while increasing the size of the truck for practicality reasons.

At any rate, we probably won’t learn any new details until 2027 when the next generation goes on sale in South America. The rest of the world is still getting the 2022 VW Amarok based on the Ford Ranger chassis and tech.