Volkswagen has big plans next month for a small crossover coming to the U.S.
On Tuesday, the automaker released a teaser image for an upcoming small SUV that will be sold in the States. VW said it will unveil the crossover Oct. 13, but didn’t say what it will be called nor how much it will cost.
For now, the smallest crossover on sale from VW is the Tiguan. Although it nominally competes against the Ford Escape, Toyota RAV4, and Honda CR-V, it’s bigger than those and other competitors. VW announced earlier this year that it will heavily revise the Tiguan for the U.S. next year, although those versions will roll out in Europe earlier.
In Europe, VW already sells a crossover smaller than the Tiguan called the T-Roc, although it’s unlikely that the U.S.-bound crossover will share any similar parts. Instead, it’s more likely that the incoming crossover will be closer to the VW Tarek, which is on sale in other parts of the world. Last year, VW filed to trademark the “Taos” name in the U.S., which may be applied to the upcoming small ‘ute.
The automaker has slowly shifted toward crossovers and SUVs and away from sedans and wagons to appease U.S. buyers. Earlier this year, the VW Atlas Cross Sport went on sale as a five-seat alternative to the seven-seat Atlas, and VW will offer an all-electric small crossover called the ID.4 in the U.S. by the end of the year.
The new small crossover likely will be less expensive than its electric-powered counterpart and an affordable crossover option for new buyers. It will compete with small crossovers such as the Chevy TrailBlazer, Ford EcoSport, Kia Seltos, and others—many of which are new or heavily updated in the past two years.
