Volkswagen is set to expand its crossover portfolio with the announcement of a new Honda HR-V-sized sub-compact crossover designed for global markets with the exception of, get this, Europe.
Reports by Automotive News says that the “Volks-SUV” or “People’s SUV” (as its internally called) slots below the Tiguan, but above the T-Cross in size. It will be the first China-developed VW product to be sold outside of China. Riding on the MQB platform, this new crossover will hit the Chinese market first this year with planned production expansion to Mexico, Russia, and Argentina starting in 2020.
Automotive News also reports that the Chinese market influence in Volkswagen’s product strategy is starting to show. The German brand has pretty much axed two-seater convertibles and coupes in their line-up due to its slow sales in China.
On the other hand, Europe isn’t getting the Volks-SUV for one simple reason: they have the smaller, sportier, and fit-for-Europe T-Roc SUV (pictured). Rumors say that VW may use the name “Apollo” for the new sub-compact crossover.
Volkswagen expends to sell 400,000 of this new SUV annually and in the next few years, will embark on a heavy SUV/crossover offensive which sees them expand their high-riding models to 20 models by 2020. At the same time, the brand has killed off slow-selling models such as the Scirocco, three-door Polo, and Beetle to keep expenses down.
Source: Automotive News
I hope its not dual clutch.
ReplyDeleteDCT/DSG issues are mechatronics related. And they already have been sorted out. VW is limiting production of manual tranny variants as even in the US, there isn't any American who buys one, just a very few.
DeleteThe orange color is kinda disgusting!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHabanero Orange color easily stands out. It is the default color of the current Tiguan and it does invite a second look somehow.
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