It has been already confirmed that Volkswagen 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.
As the spy shots you see above Volkswagen uses a Hilux body to hide its brand new pick-up truck, which is expected to be launched by the end of 2009. 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 it plans to export the pick-up truck to the USA. Probably 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. Besides the Taro (or Taro II), a SUV based on the platform is also expected.
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, it could 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.
Gallery: Volkswagen Taro Spy Shots
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