Volkswagen has applied to trademark the Udara badge, which may well end up being used on the firm’s long-awaited new small bakkie. Here’s what we know so far…
German automaker Volkswagen has filed a trademark application for the “Udara” badge, a fresh nameplate that rumours suggest will be used on the company’s long-awaited small bakkie.
The eagle-eyed folks over at CarBuzz uncovered VW’s latest trademark application, which was filed with the German Patent and Trademark Office as recently as 8 February 2024. A quick Google search suggests Udara has multiple meanings across many languages, from “exalted” in Sanskrit to the name of the African star apple fruit (chrysophyllum albidum) in the Nigerian language of Igbo. Interestingly, Udara is also a genus of butterflies.
So, what makes it likely that the Udara name will be applied to the upcoming unibody bakkie rather than another as-yet-unrevealed model? Well, back in November 2023, Brazilian publication Automotive Business reported that Volkswagen’s São José dos Pinhais factory would produce a new small bakkie internally known as “Project Udara”. The report furthermore claimed the new bakkie would likely be launched in Brazil in “early 2026”.
Why is this news potentially of significance to South Africa? Well, VW’s Volkswagen’s local division plans to build a mystery “SUV-ish” model – based on the MQB-A0 architecture and positioned below the imported T-Cross – at its Kariega facility in the Eastern Cape. And Martina Biene, chairperson and managing director of Volkswagen Group SA, revealed to Cars.co.za back in April 2023 that “there is hope” an SA-built bakkie would be spun off this newcomer, hinting at a “bigger than half-tonne” model with a 750 kg payload.
Biene furthermore told us that the mystery SUV (which subsequent reports suggested could wear the “Yeah” moniker) “is kind of in partnership with Brazil”, so there’s at least a chance the new Udara unibody pickup could also be the small bakkie that VW hopes to eventually produce at Kariega. Of course, if that indeed ends up being the case, there’s no guarantee the Udara badge would be used in Mzansi.
Interestingly, reports out of Brazil suggest the sub-Amarok Udara will be larger than the long-in-the-tooth Saveiro, a model that has technically never been on the table for South Africa as it’s produced only in left-hand-drive form. Indeed, some publications make reference to the Tarok concept of 2018, which measured 4 914 mm from nose to tail.
It’s worth noting that VW has offered a small bakkie in SA before in the form of the Mk1 Golf-based Caddy, which traced its origins all the way back to 1978. Volkswagen’s facility in Uitenhage (which has, of course, since been renamed Kariega) produced this model from 1981 until 2007. In addition, the German firm currently has an SA-built bakkie in its range, since the 2nd-generation Amarok is manufactured by Ford alongside the Ranger at the Blue Oval brand’s Silverton factory.
Related content
VW gives new small bakkie the green light – report
