Is the VW Tarok Bakkie Being Lined Up for SA Assembly?
Posted September 26, 2025
By: Ian McLaren
Delayed but still on the cards, here’s how Volkswagen Group Africa’s new positioning could result in the one-tonne Tarok being assembled in South Africa.
Unveiled at the 2018 São Paulo International Motor Show, the intriguingly designed Volkswagen Tarok pick-up was touted as a compelling understudy to the brand’s Amarok. Sharing its MQB Evo underpinnings with, among others, the eighth-generation Golf and modern Polo, the Tarok introduces the brand’s contemporary design language to a package said to be “the first pick-up to combine the stylistic elements of an urban SUV with an authentic off-road design”.
A key design element of the five-seater Tarok is the ability to lower the rear panel of the passenger compartment, creating a handy load area for accommodating longer gear and equipment, such as surfboards. VW claims a payload of around one tonne.
Set to be built in left-hand-drive configuration at VW’s São José dos Pinhais in Brazil, the recently updated mandate of this German brand’s South African operations, corresponding with a name change to Volkswagen Group Africa, together with the confirmation that Plant Kariega will produce its own version of the Brazilian-sourced Tera compact SUV, unlocks the possibility of other models, including the Tarok pick-up, to be assembled in SA.
Including the ability to conduct its own research and feasibility study to release previously unavailable EU-sourced products like Mk8.5 Golf GTI for the South African market, the mandate of Volkswagen Group Africa, which becomes the Group’s seventh global sales region, is to find solutions that cater directly to the African continent. This includes the establishment of new assembly lines, encouraging bilateral trade agreements, and sourcing products from aligned regions, including Brazil, China and India, which cater to this region’s requirements.
Built on the same platform as the modern Polo and the forthcoming Tengo (Tera) compact SUV, the fact that the Tarok was at its introduction set to be offered with a choice of a 110 kW 1.4 TSI and a 110 kW 2.0 TDI powertrain – both of which have been accommodated on the production line at Kariega – makes the possibility of tooling up for a right-hand drive Tarok altogether complex, and thus costly.
Volkswagen Group Africa would likely favour the Tarok over the much-spoken-about Saveiro half-tonne pick-up, as the more versatile, lifestyle-focused former package arguably unlocks more opportunity for much-needed volume.
