Article | The brewing bakkie war

Ford was stupid, and unless they have a contingency plan in place, they will feel the result of taking off the bantam from the market. With VW confirming the arrival of its new small bakkie, the VW Saveiro, and Renault confirming the launch of the Duster Bakkie in July 2015 for South America, we can be sure, at least as we are sure about load shedding, that this will reach our shores soon. Clever people estimate about next year sometime.

The only thing I can find is the estimate price, which will be at roughly 200 000, and engine capacities estimated to be the same as the Duster SUV. If this new bakkie was to include the kit featured in the current Duster, I see no reason for it not to be successful.

An undisguised picture shows exactly what I mean, big enough to matter, small enough to be the right vehicle for the job. The Renault spokesman reported though that the Duster bakkie was not part of the 2015 Launch plan.

There is more though, Renault is also developing a bigger brother, the 2016 Nissan Navara Based Alaskan, although still in concept form, it looks to be a decent competitor to the market, and if Renault keeps true to its word when they say “the best of three worlds: business, leisure, and motorway driving” I can only see trouble for the number one selling bakkie in SA, the Hilux.

Another contender to enter this market is rather surprising, especially when you consider that they have not had anything similar in years in SA, another surprise is the collaboration with Nissan, using the Nissan D40 generation platform built in Thailand and Mexico, which is strange considering they have an array of vehicles of which the platform they can use. I am referring then to “Project Andrew”, or better known as the Mercedes GLT (most likely).

Whether offering only a double cab option is a smart choice or not is debateable, but with three different models to choose from, namely “Workhorse”, “Dual use”, and “Leisure and family”. Another thing that counts in the favour of the GLT is the claims made that it will not only offer the most luxurious interior in this segment, but also the best rear passenger space.

I cannot find any more information on any of these cars, but I am excited. Very excited. There is a war coming, the only question is which one will you save for?