Volkswagen is getting set to launch a brand-new, tough EV SUV, the second such vehicle that it has created in collaboration with Ford. This new SUV will share the T6 ladder-frame chassis construction of the Ford Ranger EV rather than being built on a traditional monocoque basis. The next Volkswagen Amarok EV pickup truck will use the same chassis as well.
This new SUV will be the first electric SUV from VW to use a ladder-frame construction. Currently, the fourth-generation Ford Ranger truck uses this Ford-developed chassis, which also supports gasoline, diesel, and gasoline-electric plug-in hybrid powertrains.
Despite recent reports claiming that such plans have been abandoned, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles CEO Carsten Intra confirmed that engineering aimed at accommodating a battery and electric motors within the Ford platform is still ongoing in an interview with our sister publication Autocar UK at the launch of the new Amarok in South Africa in December.
For a new SUV that is closely similar to the Amarok but designed in the vein of the ID Ruggdzz, a 4×4 SUV concept that has never been displayed in public, Volkswagen is reportedly considering using the electrified T6 chassis.
The Volkswagen Group’s MEB born-EV platform served as the foundation for the initial design of the ID Ruggdzz EV SUV. Ralf Brandstatter, then-CEO of the Volkswagen brand and current head of Volkswagen’s Chinese business, stated at the time that it was intended to compete with potential electric versions of the Ford Bronco, Jeep Wrangler, and Toyota 4Runner.
However, in late 2020, efforts to advance the ID Ruggdzz idea to production by 2023 were suspended. Following the software issues that hampered the launch of its first exclusively electric model, the Volkswagen ID 3, Volkswagen decided to concentrate its EV operations.
There are currently few details regarding the revival of the ID Ruggdzz plans, but according to Autocar UK, Ford Australia in Melbourne, where much of the work on the new Amarok was done, is in charge of the ongoing engineering of the T6 chassis. According to Intra, further engineering is also being done at Ford’s US headquarters in Dearborn. This new SUV will share some internal components, as well as its exterior appearance, with the Ford Ranger and the new Amarok. Additionally, it will offer room for up to seven passengers to sit.
Officials have acknowledged that in order to provide the towing capacity and range expected of such an SUV, the electrification of the T6 platform will require a battery with a capacity of at least 110kWh. In the future months, further information about the planned VW ladder-frame EV SUV is expected to become available.
Ford Motor Company, also known simply as Ford, is a global American automaker with headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. Henry Ford formed it, and on June 16, 1903, it became a legal entity.
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