A US-made pickup truck by 2030 is part of Volkswagen Group’s plan to revive its American business. According to a Reuters report, entering this competitive but high-margin market, as well as the large SUV segment, is the path forward, since both are areas the automaker currently ignores.

The report is anonymously sourced, and VW declined to comment, so take the news with a pinch of salt. But it does make sense: Love it or hate it, the four-door pickup truck is the go-to for Americans who want one vehicle that can carry passengers and cargo that doesn’t need to be shielded from the elements. You might think a hatchback or a station wagon would be just as good or better, but that’s probably why you’re reading Ars Technica in the first place.

Tariffs and an antediluvian approach to emissions controls might make the US market a haven for vehicles that are uncompetitive or unsellable elsewhere, and the pickup truck market in the US will account for almost $200 billion in sales in 2026, with projections to continue growing each year, so one can certainly see merit in the idea. The global car might be dead, but that just means you need to develop cars for each region’s taste. And Americans really like pickup trucks.

And getting its American operations back on track is important for VW Group. Last year was bad for the company’s bottom line, and 2026 looks to be more of the same, as sales fall in China and North America. VW Group executives want to streamline the company by closing factories and laying off workers by 2030 to make it more competitive, and the plan is supported by the Porsche family, which owns just under 32 percent of the company. But the closures and layoffs are vehemently opposed by the state of Lower Saxony, which owns 20 percent of VW Group, as well as the unions, which hold half of the seats on VW Group’s supervisory board.