T6.1 2020 Transporter/Multivan details emerge

[Tornado T5]

Thought this might interest some from CarAdvice:
2020 Volkswagen Transporter, Multivan, Caravelle revealed: Australian launch next year | CarAdvice

A German video link:
Video: VW T6.1 (2019) - autobild.de

[Sunny43.5]

Sad part is we are the whim of the Australian impoters and lets face it they are so out of touch with what customers want . They seem more focussed on their touch screen thing than a lot of other things that would be more importatnt to drivers . Still no V6 which is dissapointing .

[Seano]

And it'll be the last of the line too. Next one will have quite a lot of Ford in it as Ford are taking the design lead in this class for the co-development...no chance of the V6 then either!

[Transporter]

I hope you’re wrong. We’ll see in few years I guess. It might be the Ford to have a few VW bits in it.

[Tornado T5]

I hope you’re wrong. We’ll see in few years I guess. It might be the Ford to have a few VW bits in it.

No, Ford are the lead design on Custom/T6 replacement and Ranger/Amarok replacement so it's very unlikely they will use anything VW sourced.
Ford locals here are already well into Ranger replacement with Ford US taking over some of the work having decided to share some development with their F-150 program. VW could/will obviously "tophat" both and could use VW powertrains but the reverse won't happen.

What do you think of the T6 upgrade?
I think the interior definitely is the most car-like of any van on the market with only Renault to show it's hand with their Trafic replacement late this year and now that we've seen the Hiace release as well. I thought they'd do more on the exterior rear as this has really carried over from the T5.

I just wish VW Australia would expand the choice, as I've banged on for way too long, eg a Crewvan with more than the tdi340 engine or the split fold 2nd row seats available OS rather than the single piece unit.

[Transporter]

The T6 upgrade looks good. Question for us buyers is, can Ford improve anything on VW commercial? I don’t think so. This partnership is purely economical, they’re looking to save money. Why quit MB VW partnership and start building Crafter independently in a brand new factory and 2 years later jump in the bed with Ford? It just doesn’t make a sense.

On a happier note. Iveco announced 4x4 version of Daily van and it should be available soon. It will have less ground clearance than the current 4x4 Daily which is chassis only. It will still have 3 diff locks but will get different reduction gearbox and 8speed ZF auto. It should cost less than the current one. Access Denied

[Tornado T5]

The T6 upgrade looks good. Question for us buyers is, can Ford improve anything on VW commercial? I don’t think so. This partnership is purely economical, they’re looking to save money. Why quit MB VW partnership and start building Crafter independently in a brand new factory and 2 years later jump in the bed with Ford? It just doesn’t make a sense.

On a happier note. Iveco announced 4x4 version of Daily van and it should be available soon. It will have less ground clearance than the current 4x4 Daily which is chassis only. It will still have 3 diff locks but will get different reduction gearbox and 8speed ZF auto. It should cost less than the current one. Access Denied

I think if you look at total global Transporter sales and especially Amarok sales this might give a clue.

I don't think Crafter sized vans are included in the Ford JV.

From the info I found, there were 74,400 Amaroks built from Jan-Nov'18 and Transporter was 184,100.

Ranger is built in triple the numbers now and from this month you can add the US market so it could be 4-5 times the volume.
Ford get's VW money to help the R&D and VW doesn't spend billions on something that sells less than 100K units globally.
I'm not sure about the Transit Custom but the larger Transit van (Crafter size) sells over 400,000 globally because it dominates the US market.

There must be something Ford is working on with Ranger and Transit Custom that has enough merit for VW to join in.

I take it you're looking forward to "shopping" for a van soon.

[Transporter]

I take it you're looking forward to "shopping" for a van soon.

Maybe in 3years, if Iveco Daily 4x4 van is within my budget, I’d upgrade for probably one last time, otherwise the one I have (RWD) has to last me and TBH, I love that 3.0TD engine, the power and torque in any gear is awesome. In past 12 months, I didn’t get stuck anywhere thanks to these ugly dual wheels at the back and I didn’t have to use the difflock either.

[LogicprObe]

Well, the headlights on the new Crafter are nowhere near as good as my T5.
It's like going from a 12V Beetle to a 6V Beetle!

[Transporter]

Well, the headlights on the new Crafter are nowhere near as good as my T5.
It's like going from a 12V Beetle to a 6V Beetle!

Ok, so they’re probably just H7 or H4 globes. Could you opt for different headlights when you were ordering your van? If VW Australia doesn’t offer options they have in Europe, it’s hardly manufacturer fault or anything that collaboration with Ford would improve.
How many colour options are there? It’s another limitation we have to put up with.

[LogicprObe]

Ok, so they’re probably just H7 or H4 globes. Could you opt for different headlights when you were ordering your van? If VW Australia doesn’t offer options they have in Europe, it’s hardly manufacturer fault or anything that collaboration with Ford would improve.
How many colour options are there? It’s another limitation we have to put up with.

Nah.........I was just making a comment about how I would have thought that they improve a lot of things as each year goes by...........but sometimes they go backwards!
(I only buy the basic models for work and then add stuff to them myself)

[Silver Caravelle]

I do not like the new dash at all. To me it looks cheap and with those odd crevices? Is this likely to be the equivalent 'comfort' dash of the T6? Also I think the front grill is cheap looking with so much black plastic. VW seem to get away with continuing the majority of the components of the T5 when it was first released 15 years ago. I think the T6 dash has been the best to date; much cleaner and coherent looking but still lacking the full lux factor. I wish VW would lux it up more for Comfortline and Highline models. Scott.

[tdi]

Here's another article I found with more detailed pictures and other info:
Volkswagen Transporter T6.1 officially revealed – full details and pictures of 2019 facelift | Parkers