A fresh report out of Brazil claims Volkswagen has given its rumoured new small bakkie the green light. Could this be the unibody pickup earmarked for production in South Africa, too?

Volkswagen has given its new small bakkie project the “green light”, according to a fresh report out of Brazil.

Motor1.com’s Brazilian division says the new compact unibody bakkie will be produced in double-cab form, further speculating it will resemble the Tarok concept revealed at the São Paulo International Motor Show back in 2018.

The Tarok concept was revealed in Brazil in 2018.

Though that sub-Amarok pickup was intended to go into production – with Brazil named as the initial market – the project was ultimately shelved. Interestingly, however, Motor1.com claims the latest reportedly approved new version will be smaller than the 4 914 mm-long Tarok concept, adding it will likely be built on the same platform as the T-Cross, with production likely to start in 2025.

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Of course, that crossover – along with the likes of the Polo hatchback – uses the MQB-A0 architecture, which will also underpin the mystery “SUV-ish” model that is planned for production at VW’s Kariega facility in South Africa. As a reminder, this as-yet-unrevealed model – internally known as the “A0 Entry SUV” – is expected to be positioned below the T-Cross.

Furthermore, Martina Biene, chairperson and managing director of Volkswagen Group SA, revealed to Cars.co.za back in April 2023 that “there is hope” for a Kariega-built half-tonne bakkie, which would be closely related to the mystery sub-T-Cross model. She said production of the latter would provide “an opportunity for an even bigger than half-tonne bakkie”, suggesting a payload of 750 kg.

Considering Biene also told us the upcoming A0 Entry SUV “is kind of in partnership with Brazil”, there’s at least a chance that the new unibody pickup referred to in this latest report could also be the small bakkie that VW SA hopes to eventually produce in Kariega.

The rumoured new bakkie is expected to be smaller than the Tarok concept.

This latest report follows the same Brazilian publication’s claim earlier in the week that the Wolfsburg-based automaker’s upcoming small Polo-based SUV will wear the “Volkswagen Yeah” badge (though the website interestingly also spells the alleged nameplate “Yeh” elsewhere in the article).

Stay tuned for more details as we have them…

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