VW Tukan Small Pickup

[zen_]

Looks just like a Chevy Montana. These vehicles are EVERYWHERE in Latin America. You'll see construction crews doing more with their totally clapped out little unibody pickups than most of the idiots in America driving a spotless 3/4 ton white duramax at360 ultra gas station biscuit edition could even dream of lol.

Then again Chinese EVs are also taking over the A to B car market there too, probably even more so now with high global fuel prices and they don't have datacenters gulping down all their electricity.

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[ripperAZ]

Wow that’s not attractive. It looks like a Mustang Mach E decided to sneak up and go doggy style on a 1990s Chevy Cavalier
Fail

 

[KenR]

If you think the Maverick's bed is short, VW bed look useless.

 

[Suzukiridr14]

Built on the Tiguan platform and headed to Brazil first. No word on US sales

It's all about the price! Everyone wants to get into the small truck market, because that's where buyers get more bang for the buck, Now even the Maverick is getting pricey adding cost for a color you like. ( the model "T" only came in Black)

 

[Surly Old Bill]

It's all about the price! Everyone wants to get into the small truck market, because that's where buyers get more bang for the buck, Now even the Maverick is getting pricey adding cost for a color you like. ( the model "T" only came in Black)

Not to mention the constantly changing tariffs depending on how the toddler-in-chief is feeling that day. Maverick is hecho in Mexico. Probably still cheaper than trying to make it in Merkuh with Merkun wages and benefits, though. Not that Merkun factory workers get paid all that well.

The lowest cost vehicle wins; and I think there is SOME effort being made in the industry to reduce msrp or bring a low-cost vehicle to the market. That's the main reason the Mav has been killing it; it's cheap. Other companies are trying to enter that competition, so Ford will have to respond to maintain market share.

Slate
Tukan
Telo
Santa Cruz
Montana
Hilux
and there is talk about bringing back a version of the Brat by Subaru to compete in this market.
I suspect Nissan also has something in the works.

A couple on that above list are speculative, as they need to finish compliance or build mfg facilities, but a few are definitely going to be available, and one already is.

Maybe BYD or another Chinese company will deign to sell a small pickup (the "baby shark") in the North American market, but that market is pretty small compared to domestic Chinese and Indian market for vehicles. It would cost them a significant amount to build to comply with Merkun requirements and undergo the DOT tests. I suspect they are just fine ignoring the US market.

 

[Hootbro]

Would have to be built in the USA, Canada or Mexico to avoid the 25% "Chicken Tax" if sold here.

 

[Cherokee]

This forum is NOT a good representation of the buying public. When I mention online forums to people from 20 to 40 they laugh and call me BOOMER.

I’m a Jones:
Generation Jones refers to the second half of the Baby Boomer generation, born roughly between 1954 and 1965, who sit in a micro-generation between traditional older Boomers and Generation X.

Gen X is the last that could actually think for themselves.
I’m glad I never had kids.

When I die I will be buried face down so the whole world can kiss my azz.
:’P

 

[Scupking]

Looks like a Santa Cruz and we all know how well that went... Most people that want trucks want them to look like a truck and people that want SUVs want them to look like SUVs. Not some in the middle I don't no what I am vehicle...

 

[Bob Hamilton]

The box looks way shorter than the Maverick's. Can't see how this would be very practical.

 

[Waterick]

Would have to be built in the USA, Canada or Mexico to avoid the 25% "Chicken Tax" if sold here.

Wonder if the "Chicken Tax" would actually apply. It's really just an SUV with an open luggage area. Has rear passenger seats and all.

 

[MavStangVa]

Wonder if the "Chicken Tax" would actually apply. It's really just an SUV with an open luggage area. Has rear passenger seats and all.

Yes it would apply. That is why the Brat had seats in the bed.

 

[Waterick]

Yes it would apply. That is why the Brat had seats in the bed.

But, the Brat did not have a rear seat otherwise.

 

[MavStangVa]

But, the Brat did not have a rear seat otherwise.

an open bed on a vehicle is the criteria for the chicken tax. Subaru put the seats in to designate it a passenger compartment.
Impact on the Market

• • No Foreign Mini-Trucks: The tax is the primary reason popular inexpensive overseas trucks—like the Toyota Hilux, small Japanese kei trucks, and foreign cargo vans—are not economically viable to import into the U.S.. [1, 2]
  • Shifting Production: To avoid the 25% fee, foreign automakers build trucks within North America (such as in the U.S., Mexico, or Canada) or assemble passenger-oriented versions locally. For example, Toyota builds the Tacoma in Texas and Mexico rather than importing the Hilux. [1, 2]
  • Loopholes and Workarounds: Historically, some manufacturers imported two-seater cargo vehicles as passenger-carrying units or added temporary rear jump seats (like the Subaru Brat) to reclassify them and dodge the steep tariff.

 

[Waterick]

an open bed on a vehicle is the criteria for the chicken tax. Subaru put the seats in to designate it a passenger compartment.
Impact on the Market

• • No Foreign Mini-Trucks: The tax is the primary reason popular inexpensive overseas trucks—like the Toyota Hilux, small Japanese kei trucks, and foreign cargo vans—are not economically viable to import into the U.S.. [1, 2]
  • Shifting Production: To avoid the 25% fee, foreign automakers build trucks within North America (such as in the U.S., Mexico, or Canada) or assemble passenger-oriented versions locally. For example, Toyota builds the Tacoma in Texas and Mexico rather than importing the Hilux. [1, 2]
  • Loopholes and Workarounds: Historically, some manufacturers imported two-seater cargo vehicles as passenger-carrying units or added temporary rear jump seats (like the Subaru Brat) to reclassify them and dodge the steep tariff.

ASSumed it was just the rear seat(s), not a cargo bay that defined weather a truck or not for this tax. Ford did the same thing on the Transit Connect. So I guess the bay doesn't have to be open to be a cargo area either. Wonder if they could make a removable trunk lid? Seems the bed in the VW is not as big as the cargo area in some of the larger foreign SUVs.

 

[Surly Old Bill]

Looks like a Santa Cruz and we all know how well that went... Most people that want trucks want them to look like a truck and people that want SUVs want them to look like SUVs. Not some in the middle I don't no what I am vehicle...

people who want trucks buy trucks, not compact unibody commuter cars with a small open bed.
BUT, people who want to think they're driving a pickup might find the Maverick to be acceptable. Same logic for SUVs; the compact SUVs are just tall commuter cars, but might give the owner the "feeling" that they're driving an SUV.

And both of these examples have their own niche, which is pretty large and profitable. Heck, I know the difference between a Maverick and a pickup and I still bought one, because it best fit my needs under a certain price point.

The compact "pickup" and SUV market is popular and profitable.

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