Volkswagen yesterday announced a mega investment initially for Brazil, which contemplates a total renewal of its current range, the appearance of vehicles in new segments, the electrification of regional products and the return of the most popular model in South America.
The thing is that in the plan announced by the German brand appears neither more nor less what they call the new generation Gol, the model that sold approximately 8.5 million vehicles between Argentina and Brazil and that led the sales rankings of both countries for years. .
The German company announced that will invest 2,000 million dollars Four new models are being manufactured in different plants in Brazil, including a new SUV and a compact pickup. In addition, hybrid technology will be introduced for the first time in regional Volkswagen production.
The industrial centers that will receive the investment to produce the new models are those of Taubaté, Sao José dos Pinhais and Sao Bernardo de Campo and San Carlos, which will be responsible for manufacturing the hybrid propulsion system. These plants are located in the states of San Pablo and Paraná.
Due to how the sector is structured in the region, with the historical industrial and commercial exchange that exists between Argentina and Brazil, it is ruled out that at some point these new models will reach the local market. Although at the moment there is no precision as to when that will happen.
Project VW246, the Gol SUV
Rumors have been circulating for a couple of years that the new Gol will become an SUV, something that sounds logical given current market preferences. But with Volkswagen’s investment announcement the picture began to clear up a bit.
The Brazilian press identifies him as the Project VW246, which will be built on the Polo platform but will be located below the Nivus and T-Cross. Its launch is expected in early 2025 and will most likely not carry the Gol name. It will be powered by a 1.0-liter engine.
The other strong novelty of the announcement is the confirmation of a new pickup for the German brand. It is a compact model that has been around for a few years, and was even thought to be produced in Argentina.
However, it will finally be Brazil that manufactures this vehicle although with an important difference compared to what the initial project proposed. Originally, the prototype of the Tarok pickup was based on the platform of the Taos SUV, which is produced in Argentina.
The future truck, however, will be built on the basis of the T-Cross. Therefore, it is expected to be closer to a Chevrolet Montana than a Fiat Toro or a Ford Maverick.
The other two new models are a mystery for now and we will have to wait for more details. What was also announced were the renewals of the Nivus and T-Cross modelsscheduled from 2025.
The other strong part of the announcement was the hybrid technology that the brand is going to develop in Brazil and which takes a good part of the reported investment.
This is the development of the platform called MQB Hybrid and from which mild hybrids, conventional hybrids and plug-in hybrids will emerge. And they will all work with Flex technology, meaning that in Brazil these cars will be able to fill both gasoline and ethanol.
The engine will be the 1.5 TSi Evo2, an evolution of the current 1.4 TSi and it is speculated that the first recipients will be the two new announced models that have not yet been identified, although not before 2027.