Volkswagen Taro

Volkswagen Taro (Typ 7A)
Volkswagen Taro
Overview
Manufacturer	Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Toyota Hino
Also called	Toyota Hilux/Pickup
Production	February 1989–March 1997
Assembly	Japan: Tahara, Aichi Germany: Hannover
Body and chassis
Class	light commercial vehicle
Body style	Pickup truck
Layout	Longitudinal front engine; rear-wheel drive (4x2), or four-wheel drive (4x4)
Powertrain
Engine	Petrol: 1.8 L 2Y I4 2.2 L 4Y I4 2.4 L 22R I4 Diesel: 2.4 L 2L I4
Transmission	5-speed manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase	4x2: 2,850 mm (112.2 in) 4x4: 3,095 mm (121.9 in)
Length	4x2: 4,725 mm (186.0 in) 4x4: 4,905 mm (193.1 in)
Width	4x2: 1,650 mm (65.0 in) 4x4: 1,690 mm (66.5 in)
Height	4x2: 1,555 mm (61.2 in) 4x4: 1,740 mm (68.5 in)
Chronology
Predecessor	Volkswagen Caddy
Successor	Volkswagen Amarok

The Volkswagen Taro 1 tonne pickup truck was introduced in January 1989 by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles^[1] to complement the half tonne Caddy pickup / panel van ranges, and the 1 tonne Transporter van and chassis cab ranges. The name "tarō" is a suffix used in Japanese to denote the oldest brother or son, or the first-born son of a family.

The Taro was a project of badge engineering. The Taro was a rebadged fifth generation Toyota Hilux, which was fully engineered and designed by Toyota. The two companies came together in an effort to solve each other's problems:

• Volkswagen Group at the time did not have a one-tonne pickup truck.
• Toyota wanted a bigger European market share of the one-tonne utility market.