VW confirms all US pickup truck plans are dead

What is the saddest four-word story in the world? The Volkswagen pickup truck that was never produced.

The pickup truck market has opened up a bit lately. After years of American dominance, there seems to be a window of opportunity for small foreign trucks, but VW isn’t going to sneak into this market.

The German automaker has officially confirmed that any plans it had for bringing a pickup truck to the North American market are officially dead. Sorry, Volkswagen fans.

The news came at the Chicago Auto Show, when Pablo di Si, CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, told Motor Trend that the pickup truck was “no longer in the plans.” Unfortunately, he didn’t provide any reason for the decision.

Read: VW’s North American boss wants a new pickup truck for the U.S. — but it probably won’t happen

2018 Volkswagen Atlas Tanoak pickup truck concept

Come to think of it, a mass-market pickup isn’t the worst idea in the world. With the advent of the Hyundai Santa Cruz, the unexpected success of the Ford Maverick, and strong efforts from the Chevrolet Colorado and Ford Ranger, the golden age of small pickups has arrived.

The fact that Volkswagen’s latest European pickup, the Amarok, is based on the Ford Ranger means it could be cost-effective to certify it for U.S. and Canadian buyers. And the automaker is interested in launching a North American pickup, having revealed the Atlas-based Tanoak at the 2018 New York Auto Show.

MORE: Ford Maverick sales surge in January, outselling Toyota Tacoma

However, that’s not the case. While it’s unclear why, it could have something to do with another Volkswagen brand that’s about to take off: Scout. While the newest brand within the Volkswagen Group hasn’t released any products yet, we know it’s working on an electric SUV and a pickup truck. You can check out our rendering of the production Scout SUV here it’s here.

The company is led by Scott Koegh, who was in charge of the Volkswagen Group when the Tanoak was launched. Whether he was the driving force behind the pickup concept or if the automaker felt the Scout brand could satisfy its desire to take over an entire segment is unclear, but we can’t help but feel sad that the Tanoak never got launched.