Volkswagen Announces Five-Seat Atlas Concept

Today, Volkswagen announced that it would be building a five-passenger variant of the Atlas crossover. The “Five-Passenger Atlas,” as Volkswagen is calling it at the moment will be shown in concept form next week at the New York Auto Show. It is unclear whether the five-seat version will be shorter, but it appears to look slightly different than the standard Atlas. The new model will be built on Volkswagen's MQB platfrom and produced alongside the Atlas at the Chattanooga, TN plant.

“The Atlas has built strong momentum for Volkswagen in the SUV segment, and we are excited to grow our SUV portfolio with this new, Chattanooga-assembled five-passenger SUV. We are not only committed to this market, we are committed to our U.S. manufacturing home in Chattanooga, Tennessee,” said Hinrich J. Woebcken, President and CEO, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Source: Volkswagen
Press Release is on Page 2

VOLKSWAGEN ANNOUNCES A NEW FIVE-PASSENGER ATLAS SUV TO BE BUILT IN CHATTANOOGA

Mar 19, 2018

• Based off Volkswagen’s award-winning MQB platform, a concept version will be unveiled at the 2018 New York International Auto Show

Chattanooga, Tenn. – Volkswagen of America, Inc., announced today that it will be building a new five-passenger SUV at its Chattanooga factory. Based off Volkswagen’s award-winning MQB platform, the new Volkswagen SUV will be a variant of the seven-passenger Atlas and, like its sibling, will be designed and engineered for the American market.

“The Atlas has built strong momentum for Volkswagen in the SUV segment, and we are excited to grow our SUV portfolio with this new, Chattanooga-assembled five-passenger SUV,” said Hinrich J. Woebcken, President and CEO, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. “We are not only committed to this market, we are committed to our U.S. manufacturing home in Chattanooga, Tennessee.”

Woebcken made the announcement in Chattanooga today with Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam.

“During my time as Governor, I’ve watched Volkswagen Chattanooga flourish from a single vehicle producer, starting with the Passat, into what it is today—a thriving U.S. manufacturing operation that can produce three models, and counting,” said Governor Haslam. “We value Volkswagen as a committed partner, whose investments in the state have not only created new jobs, but have helped us build a skilled Tennessee workforce. I look forward to watching as VW continues to grow in Tennessee.”

Volkswagen will invest approximately $340 million to bring the vehicle to market, in addition to approximately $900 million already invested to expand the plant for Atlas production. The five-passenger Atlas variant will mark the third Volkswagen model assembled at the Chattanooga factory. Volkswagen Chattanooga also manufactures the Passat, which went on sale in 2011, and the Atlas, which started sales in 2017.

A concept version of the five-passenger SUV will be officially unveiled at the 2018 New York International Auto Show.