Back in August, Leftlane reported that Volkswagen was seriously considering a seven-passenger, three-row crossover to bolster its sales in the states. Now, it seems the German company has decided in favor of such a vehicle.
Car and Driver has stated that the crossover is indeed headed to production (although the magazine was cagey about its sources) and will slot between the brand’s existing Tiguan and Toureg models.
The vehicle will likely share a host of components with a recently-announced Skoda (a European VW subsidary) three-row crossover and will ride on the U.S-market Passat’s platform, helping to keep development costs down. Its seven-passenger capacity could also obviate the need for the Chrysler Town & Country-based Routan minivan, saving Volkswagen further coin. Power is expected to come from the Passat’s 3.6-liter VW, while a 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 is also a possibility.
A player in the three-row crossover segment should help bring Volkswagen’s oft-mentioned goal of 800,000 annual sales in the U.S. 2018 much closer to reality – the sales potential of the segment is illustrated by the Honda Pilot, which sold 102,323 examples in 2010, and the new Ford Explorer, which broke the 100,000 sales barrier in early October of this year.
Expect Volkswagen’s crossover to be priced to compete head-on with the Pilot and Explorer, which start at just over $29,000, when it hits the market within several years.
References
1.’From the VW…’ view
