Volkswagen announced this Wednesday that the future Tukan pickup truck will be the brand’s first electrified vehicle produced in Brazil, inaugurating the German company’s strategy of entering more strongly into a segment that has been dominated in the country by Asian automakers.
The automaker stated that the new pickup truck, which does not yet have an official launch date, will inaugurate the company’s plan to have, starting this year, an electrified version of each new model developed and produced in South America.
The brand has not yet revealed details of the new pickup, but has already announced that it will not replace the company’s best-seller in the segment, the compact Saveiro. According to the president of Volkswagen Brazil, Ciro Possobom, the Tukan will occupy an “unprecedented segment” for the company in the country.
The vehicle, which will also be a first for Volkswagen’s global portfolio, as it is a medium-sized pickup truck, will be launched with a 76% nationalization level of parts. The electric drive will be brought from Germany and the batteries will come from China, Podemosbom said. The model’s combustion engine will be produced in Brazil, and the pickup will be assembled in São José dos Pinhais (PR).
The announcement of Tukan’s arrival comes at a time when Asian brands have increasingly gained space in the Brazilian vehicle market with electric and hybrid models, which already account for more than 10% of new vehicle sales in the country.
According to data from the Fenabrave dealer association, the Chinese BYD, which opened its first factory in Brazil in October, already occupies fifth place in sales of new vehicles in the country, compared to ninth place last year.
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Podemosbom stated in an interview with journalists that Volkswagen in Brazil is working at full capacity in two shifts, having produced almost 540 thousand cars last year — an increase of 17% over 2024 and compared to the volume of around 350 thousand vehicles in 2023. In January and February, the German automaker occupies second place in the sales ranking, behind Fiat, from the Stellantis group.
War and winter
According to the executive, the automaker has not yet felt any relevant impacts on the supply chain due to the war in the Middle East, but he said there will probably be delays in the supply of parts.
“What has affected the most so far has been the severity of the winter in Europe, which has hampered the flow of ships,” he stated. “Yesterday we discussed the impacts on the logistics chain (of the war) and there are forecasts of delays in parts, but we have stocks. We don’t want to stop production”, added the executive, citing, without giving details, that the cost of freight has already risen.
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Podemosbom stated that, after the German automaker balanced its financial balance in Brazil in 2021, today the company has “a good result” in the country, although he highlights that the margins in the automotive sector are “very tight”.
Although the automotive industry managed this year for the government not to extend the import tax exemption for dismantled vehicles (CKD and SKD), Possobom stated that the sector remains attentive to new requests from Chinese brands to renew the benefit.
The executive compared the practice to a “Trojan horse, in which the long-term consequences are very large for local employment and industry”.
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To give this dimension, Podemosbom stated that Volkswagen invested around R$3 billion just in machinery, modernization of production lines and research and development in Brazil, preparing the company for the electrification of its line.
The executive also mentioned that Volkswagen, present in Brazil for 73 years, has 750 suppliers, of which 80% have operations in the country, and that the level of nationalization of the brand’s production is 85%.
“What happened in Brazil in recent years was very difficult. The industry is losing position in GDP. The way they (Chinese automakers) are coming without equality, it is very difficult,” he said.
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Last year, according to data from the automakers association Anfavea, sales of imported vehicles in Brazil totaled almost 500,000 units, after 466,500 in 2024. The volume in 2025 is equivalent to “at least three vehicle factories” in Brazil, said Possobom.
According to him, the speed of growth of Chinese brands in Brazil “surprised the government”, which until 2023 exempted electric vehicles from import taxes and applied a reduced rate to hybrids.
The president of Volkswagen in Brazil also cited the current level of inventories in the sector in the country, of 359 thousand vehicles, of which 210.6 thousand are imported — enough for 172 days of sales, compared to 29 days in the case of nationals.
“The Chinese shook up Brazilian industry… They accelerated the launches of the sector a little, especially electrification”, acknowledged Podemosbom, citing that the local industry is preparing a reaction, supported in part by the increase in import tariffs and investments in new models.
“The combination of low exchange rates and low taxes greatly closed the business models (of Chinese brands)… But I don’t really believe in that in the long term due to the country’s fiscal difficulties”, said the executive, adding that, with a devaluation of the real against the dollar together with the 35% import tax, “a lot of accounts will not close”.
