Volkswagen has teased a new SUV concept badged the T-Cross, prior to its debut at the Geneva motor show 2016. The new SUV concept from the German automaker previews a Polo-based production SUV, which will be an entry-level model in the company’s SUV line-up.
A part of the company’s volume-segment SUV strategy reportedly fast tracked by VW chairman Matthias Müller, the T-Cross will join its larger Golf-based sibling, the T-Roc, which is expected to make its debut in production guise later this year.
“We will position production versions of the T-Cross and T-Roc underneath the Tiguan and Touareg in a part of the market that is currently experiencing large growth for SUV models, including Europe,” said a manager at VW.
Sitting on VW’s MQB platform, the T-Cross along with its larger sibling are planned to be offered with a range of powertrains which consist of petrol, diesel, or plug-in petrol-electric hybrid drivetrains, together with front-wheel drive and four-wheel-drive options.
The teaser images released by VW show a high-riding concept with LED elements in the headlamps and large square-shaped LED daytime running lamps surrounding the fog lamps. Other features noticed in the teaser images were that the model wore body cladding and featured a skid-plate on the front bumper.
VW had been planning an even smaller entry-level model, called the Taigun, with the concept being showcased at Auto Expo 2014. But the company has now abandoned plans for reasons that the Taigun small SUV felt “too small” and that the financial climate in key South American markets, where VW planned to manufacture the SUV, was unstable.