Volkswagen just unveiled a pickup truck concept that shows it's ready to take over the US
- Volkswagen introduced the Atlas Tanoak pickup truck concept at the New York International Auto Show on Wednesday.
- The truck can produce 276 horsepower, 266 pound-feet of torque, and accelerate from 0-60 mph in 8.5 seconds.
- While VW has no plans to produce the truck at the moment, it signals the company's increased attention to the preferences of US consumers.
Volkswagen has made a serious effort to appeal to an American car market dominated by SUVs and pickups in the past year.
And on Wednesday, the automaker unveiled the Atlas Tanoak, a pickup truck concept that signals the company's increased attention to the preferences of US consumers.
The dual-cab, short-bed pickup truck debuted at the New York International Auto Show. Volkswagen has no plans to produce the vehicle at the moment, though the company indicated in a press release that it would consider a production version of the concept based on the response it receives.
The Atlas Tanoak has a 3.6-liter V6 FSI engine, eight-speed automatic transmission, and VW's 4Motion all-wheel-drive system. The vehicle's engine can produce 276 horsepower, 266 pound-feet of torque, and accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 8.5 seconds. At 214.1 inches, it's 15.8 inches longer than VW's Atlas SUV, and its 9.8-inch ground clearance is two inches higher than the Atlas.
On the inside, the vehicle can seat five passengers. Most interior settings are controlled digitally through a touchscreen infotainment system.
The Atlas Tanoak is the second concept Volkswagen has revealed this week, after it unveiled the Atlas Cross Sport concept on Tuesday. The Atlas Cross Sport is a smaller version of the Atlas SUV, which was introduced in 2017 for the 2018 model year. Volkswagen also redesigned its Tiguan compact SUV and eliminated the Touareg mid-size SUV for the 2018 model year.
Before revamping its SUV lineup, Volkswagen had struggled to make headway in the US market due to its reliance on smaller passenger cars, a strategy that was successful in Europe, Asia, and South America, but didn't align with American preferences for larger vehicles.
