Volkswagen Considers Pickup Truck Production in the United States

In an effort to reverse its poor performance in recent years, the Volkswagen Group plans to completely restructure its U.S. operations with new leadership and a revised product lineup, which includes the launch of a pickup truck before the end of the decade.

This was revealed in a report by the German publication Handelsblatt, which states that Marco Schubert, former head of sales at Audi, will soon relocate to Virginia to replace Kjell Gruner as CEO of Volkswagen of America.

The German automaker’s sales in North America, as well as its market share, declined during Gruner’s tenure—a position he has held since December 2024—although they have seen a slight rebound so far in 2026.

According to the report, Thomas Schäfer, CEO of the Volkswagen brand, sees full-size pickups and SUVs as an opportunity to reverse this trend, which is why the company is seriously considering producing vehicles in these segments at the assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee—the current production site for the Volkswagen Atlas and its Atlas Cross Sport variant.

The report notes that it is not yet known whether Volkswagen will develop the vehicle using its own resources or through a partnership with another automaker, while pointing to Ford as a potential candidate, given that both companies have a history of working together.

The Blue Oval brand uses Volkswagen’s MEB platform to produce the Explorer EV and Capri electric vehicles at its assembly plant in Cologne, Germany, and in exchange, assembles Volkswagen’s Amarok pickup for the European market at its Silverton plant in Pretoria, South Africa, alongside the Ford Ranger.