The latest commercial vehicle from Volkswagen isn’t another box, retro-tastic van. Instead, it’s a crew cab, flatbed-style pickup truck with modern amenities, room for six, serious payload capacity, and a fully electric powertrain.
Making an appearance on Volkswagen’s German konfigutator, the new e-Transporter DoKa is a flatbed style pickup built on a longer version of the new, Ford Transit-based Volkswagen Transporter van chassis that debuted last year.
The flatbed DoKa rides on a 3,500 mm (~138″) wheelbase and a 5,613 mm (~221″) overall length, making it about 10.4″ longer than the Ranger-based Amarok. And, because the DoKa has a shorter hood, that extra length is almost all cargo bed, making the truck much more practical on job sites or delivery runs than VW’s other Ford-based work truck.
And, frankly, it looks more practical than a mid-size pickup – especially if you need to actually fit a crew in your crew cab pickup.
Room for six Europeans
It might not be as stylish as the ID.Buzz, but the DoKa is built to work with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 3,225 kg (7,100 lbs.) and a payload capacity between 348 and 785 kg (1,730 lbs.). Plenty of capacity, in other words, for tools, gear, or a pallet of appliances. The DoKa even has a fairly decent tow rating. The flatbed truck is rated to 2,000 kg with trailer brakes (4,400 lbs., about the same as an ICE-powered Chevy Blazer or Jeep Cherokee with tow package).
All those kilograms are motivated by a 100 kW (135 hp) electric motor making 415 Nm (306 lb-ft) of torque at zero rpm in the base models, and up to 210 kW (280 hp) in the top-spec versions. The konfigurator doesn’t list battery specs, but the e-Transporter DoKa flatbed probably uses the same 64 kWh battery and ultra-quick charging capability as the van.
Pricing starts at €52,208 ($60,527 as I type this), pre VAT, and options to make the truck ready for specialized work surely abound.
Electrek’s Take
Volkswagen has a long history of building van-based flatbed pickups, stretching all the way back to the original Type 2 flatbed in 1952. The trucks, like their iconic van siblings, have inspired the sort of cult following that led many industry insiders (myself, included) to expect an ID.Buzz-based flatbed truck to pop up sooner than later. That hasn’t happened – and, given the relative lack of enthusiasm for a $70,000+ Volkswagen-branded minivan in the market, it probably never will.
Top comment by Chris PNW
We don’t see many work trucks/vans in America with 6 (comfortable) seats in the first two rows. A lightweight bed camper would make this a great weekend vehicle for the beach or mountains as well as a workhorse at home. The Chinese version will be even more affordable for the working class globally.
I am now of the opinion, North America may benefit by allowing Chinese EV manufacturers to offer vehicles for import (tariff free) at the lower end of the market $10k -$25k USD. The Western manufacturers can’t compete or don’t want the lower end of the vehicle market YET there is a huge demand for inexpensive, reliable, and clean EV transportation in America (for those citizens whose net incomes have remained flat for years).
That said, the original VW kombi variants were born out of necessity, not fashion. They were built to work, and they helped rebuild Europe’s economy after the war and probably led to the conception of one or more people reading this in US (or your parents, anyway). So, if you’re in the market for a Volkswagen-based work truck that’s true to the spirit, if not the shape of the original T2, the new e-Transporter DoKa double cab flatbed truck variant might be the one for you.
VW e-Transporter DoKa gallery
SOURCES: VW, via CarScoops; T2 image via Bonhams.
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