Volkswagen Plotting New Small Crossover For U.S.
We were shocked to find out the Volkswagen T-Roc isn’t destined for North America, but we now know why: the German brand has something different planned for the U.S. and Canada.
VW’s development lead, Frank Welsch, told Autoblog in a recent interview the automaker is currently gauging interest in a small crossover that would slot in between the tiny T-Roc and the compact Tiguan in North America. The T-Roc is too small and too pricey for North American tastes, he said, but having a product smaller than the Tiguan is still important if VW wishes to fully tap into the current crossover/SUV consumer trend.
Welsch provided a good amount of info on the proposed compact crossover, which would also be sold in China in addition to the U.S. and Canada. He said it is a little bit smaller than the Tiguan short wheelbase, which isn’t sold in North American (we only get the long wheelbase version, marketed simply as the Tiguan) and is based on its MQB architecture. It will launch in China in 2018, but VW thinks it could be appealing to American and Russian customers as well.
SEE ALSO: VW T-Roc Arrives With Stylish Looks, Range of Turbo Engines
VW is acting as if this unnamed new crossover is still only being considered, but it seems likely it will eventually arrive. The proposed new vehicle is part of a product push from VW that will see a third of its lineup consist of SUVs and crossovers by 2020. Currently, its crossover lineup is made up of the Tiguan, the old Tiguan Limited (set to die off shortly), the mid-size Touareg and the full-size Atlas.
We’ll get our first glimpse of VW’s unnamed new compact crossover when it arrives in China next year.
[Source: Autoblog]
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Sam McEachern holds a diploma in journalism from St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario, and has been covering the automotive industry for over 5 years. He conducts reviews and writes AutoGuide's news content. He's a die-hard motorsports fan with a passion for performance cars of all sorts.
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Ugh more of this US-Market targeting shite. We just cannot get a good car in north america because the north america division execs keep targeting Buick and Ford F150 drivers. Damit, some of us lived in europe and love those models and would like to buy one. Its bad enough the sister Audi brand won't let me by a manual gearbox quatro TDI engined A3, even though all those features are sold in seperate models in the US, but this "its too small" malarkey just drives me mad. If VW is going to only compete in north america on the US mass market car tastes they will remain a minor brand behind the exisitng ones that produce all those boxes. Be VW, stop trying to be friggen General Motors or Toyota for christ sake.