VW Rebadges Chinese Van That Rivals Its Own Crafter

The Volkswagen Crafter might be competing with large vans such as the Ford Transit, Renault Trafic, Fiat Ducato, and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter in various markets around the world, but it is absent from South America. In order to fill that void, VW has unveiled the new Tempest, which is a rebadged version of the Chinese Maxus Deliver 9, also sold as the LDV Deliver 9 and Maxus V90 since 2019.

The SAIC-sourced van is part of a R$ 300 million ($54 million) investment in the Volkswagen Trucks and Buses division. Next year, it will be joined by an electrified VW Amarok pickup for South America. This will also ride on SAIC underpinnings, albeit with production taking place in Argentina.

Back to the large van, the VW Tempest retains the sheet metal of its LDV twin, but gains a redesigned nose. A slimmer black grille with the VW emblem connects the carry-over LED headlights, joined by a new cooling intake on the front bumper. The interior has also been carried over, including the 12-inch infotainment display and multiple storage solutions.

The LCV is available in Cargo, Window, Minibus, and Truck body style variants with two different heights. Despite the similarities with its Chinese twin, VW claims that its own engineering team carried out over 250 technical modifications, adapted over 50 manufacturing processes, and completed 1.5 million km (932,000 miles) of testing during development.

Under the hood of the VW Tempest lies a SAIC-sourced 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbodiesel producing 174 hp (130 kW / 176 PS) and 400 Nm (295 lb-ft) of torque. The extra power and torque compared to the LDV donor vehicle were made possible thanks to performance modifications specific to the Brazilian market. The mill is exclusively mated to a six-speed manual gearbox, moving rear wheels.

Depending on the variant, cargo volume ranges between 9.7-12.3 cubic meters (343-434 cubic feet). For comparison, the global-spec VW Crafter can carry anywhere between 9.3 and 18.4 cubic meters (328-650 cubic feet).

While the VW Tempest has just been unveiled, the automaker announced it has already received over 1,000 pre-orders from Brazilian customers. Pricing has yet to be announced. The company has also confirmed that availability of the van will expand to Argentina early next year. The model is manufactured in SAIC facilities in China.

It is worth noting that the LDV Deliver 9 is a direct rival to VW's own-developed Crafter in regions like Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and the UK, where both models are being sold simultaneously. Still, badge engineering is a common strategy in trucks and LCVs, with automakers trying their best to save valuable R&D resources through partnerships, while covering a large portion of the market.

Besides their collaboration on the large van and the upcoming midsize truck in South America, VW and SAIC have one of the oldest foreign automaker joint ventures in China, founded in 1984.

LDV