German Car Zone

Volkswagen has already confirmed it will produce a midsize pick-up in Germany, South Africa and Argentina. Internally called “Robust Pick-Up”, or RPU, it will compete mainly against the Toyota Hilux in emerging markets. Is there a better way to know a competitor than inside-out? Volkswagen seems to have followed this idea literally and has used a Hilux body to hide its brand new pick-up truck, which is expected to be launched by the end of 2009.

Ironically, the test mule that was chosen by Volkswagen evokes a previous partnership between the German and the Japanese automakers, as well as the possible name of the new pick-up truck. Although the official name has not been released yet, we can bet it will be called Taro or Taro II. This was the name used by VW to sell a rebadged Hilux that was produced both by Volkswagen and Toyota from 1989 until 1997.

It may really seem to be a Toyota Hilux, but the wheelbase of this vehicle is larger and the registration plate of the pick-up truck indicates it was registered in Brunswig, a city close to Wolfsburg here VW has its headquarters, and is commonly used by the company to register its prototypes.

Engines are expected to be turbodiesels, but there may be gasoline powerplants if plans to export the pick-up truck to the USA get the green light. As the pictures allow us to see, there will be a four-wheel drive version of the new Taro, just like this one, which was being tested in Northern Scandinavia.

Rumors are that the 2WD version will be front wheel drive, but we would bet on a rear wheel drive pick-up truck, especially considering its size and the heavy duty it may be subject to. Sources state it will be able to carry up to 1.5 ton.

Besides the Taro (or Taro II), an SUV based on the platform is also expected. It would be called Volkswagen Namib and would be a lower-cost option to the Touareg, what helps explain why the AAC Concept was never produced. The Touareg is considered to be too expensive for emerging markets and is very sophisticated even in European markets.









Source - WCF: Hilux Disguise Hides New Volkswagen Taro

So VW are going ahead with this. I'd say it's an important model if they want to take on Toyota on the US market.

Maybe Audi has pickup ambitions too

Yes but it isn't going to be luxury based, as VW Commercial Vehicles are aiming this at Emerging Markets.

There will be luxury version am sure of that

See that drawing in the right corner of the pic? That's an official VW render of the company's new pickup, internally called the Robust. It's hanging at an event called ExpoAgro in Argentina, where the truck will be built. The banner on the left says "The VW pickup for the field." VW isn't playing around with the model, either, having invested a billion pesos into its Pacheco factory to get ready for the vehicle's 2009 or 2010 launch.

The render presents a neat profile that looks low to the ground -- more ute than pickup really, much like the VW Rabbit pickup from almost three decades ago. We do find the rear sloping roof a bit odd, seeing that it would eat into quite a bit of bed space if the line continued into the bed. But it's just a render, so we don't want to read too much into it. With carmakers putting fake interiors in test mules nowadays, for all we know, the Robust render could also be a hat, or a brooch, or a pterodactyl.


Source: Hecha en Argentina: First official drawing of VW's new pickup - Autoblog

New VW pick-up caught cold
First ever spy shot proves VW is hoping to pick-up some new customers.

Here’s proof that Volkswagen plans to gatecrash the pick-up party! The German firm is developing its own rival to the Nissan Navaro, Mitsubishi L200 and Isuzu Rodeo.
Our spy photographers caught the flat-bed model during winter testing, and while they couldn’t get close, the picture shows a double-cab version is on the horizon. According to our sources, the all-new 4x4 will be given the Robust badge, which top brass hope will reflect its tough con­struction and practical design.
When it hits UK building sites, it will be the brand’s first proper pick-up. While flat-bed versions of VW’s Caddy van have been sold in the UK before, the newcomer promises gen­uine off-road ability and should be able to carry a much higher payload. The maker is also expected to build traditional single-cab versions, but the four-door model pictured here will go head-to-head with popular models like the Mitsubishi Warrior.
A full-sized SUV spin-off using Robust underpinnings could also be in the pipeline. Such a model would sit between the Tiguan and Touareg in the current line-up, and rival the likes of the Mitsubishi Shogun and Nissan Pathfinder off-roaders.
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoexpressnews/219225/vw_pickup.html

Looks good, the concept will be shown in September with the production version following a year later in Argentina, then Hanover in Germany and Uitenhage in South Africa

UPDATE:VW Uitenhage plant to ‘pick up’ Robust?
While we all know that Volkswagen and Toyota have always been competing against one another for who has the biggest stake in the motor vehicle industry, there was once a time when they worked side-by-side. A short-lived deal between the two manufacturers spawned a pick-up, the Taro. It seems now, that VW plans to revive this vehicle – and various reports suggest that our local VW Uitenhage plant apparently gets the deal to produce it for the right-hand-drive market – although this cannot be confirmed by VWSA.

By Kelly Lodewyks

According to Banoyolo Hlalukana of VWSA, “There is no confirmation as yet at all for South Africa. Our product planning guys are still in a process of doing market researches which take place before any car arrives in SA.”

For now, the new VW pick-up has been dubbed the Robust, but it is rumoured that it will be sold badged as the Taro. The Robust will possibly be made available in a double-cab and a club-cab body shape, combined with either front-wheel- or four-wheel-drive options. Rumoured engines to sit under the bonnet of the Robust are common rail diesel engines, a four-cylinder petrol engine and a V6 petrol option.

According to AutoExpress, the new truck will also spawn a new SUV, slated to slot between the Tiguan and Touareg.

Pictured is a rendering of the upcoming VW pick-up, as well as a spy shot of the winter testing that took place recently. Judging by the looks, it seems as if the Robust is not aimed at the workhorse pick-up market that the Hilux has dominated for some time now, but instead at a more upmarket audience who may be after something along the lines of the Nissan Navara.

The first Taro emerged in 1989, when VW Commercial Vehicles introduced it as a one tonne pick-up. This vehicle was re-badged as the Toyota Hilux – fully engineered and designed by Toyota. This deal between the two marques helped VW put a pick-up into a market they previously had no hand in, while Toyota was able to get a share of the European one tonne utility market. As a result, in the 1980’s VW and Toyota signed an agreement that VW would manufacture the Toyota Hilux in the VW factory in Hanover, Germany and – undergoing another re-badging - it would be sold under the Volkswagen Taro moniker. The deal ended in 1996 when the vehicle didn’t live up to both car marques expectations.

A concept of this pick-up is expected to make an appearance at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2008 and a production version is expected to hit the international market in 2009

so so wrong don't journalists ever research anymore.

What I mean by that is 1st mistake Robust concept will be launched in September at the IAA in Hanover not Frankfurt 2nd it will not be called after a starchy potato plant.

Spy Shots: 2010 Volkswagen Robust pickup caught wearing its own sheetmetal



http://www.autoblog.com/2008/04/22/spy-shots-2010-volkswagen-robust-pickup-caught-wearing-its-own/

Cool