Volkswagen: No T-Roc For America, But We're Working On Something

A few weeks ago, we reported that Volkswagen wasn't planning to bring the T-Roc over to the U.S. No reason was given, but we suspected price was a key reason. At the Frankfurt Motor Show, Volkswagen's director of development, Dr. Frank Welsch confirmed the T-Roc isn't coming.

"Let's be very clear: The T-Roc will not go to the U.S. I don't believe it's too expensive, but it's because it's a very small car. They tell us people in the U.S. expect more size for that money. It is too small. We are going to have an SUV that is even smaller than a T-Roc [the T-Cross] and it will also not go to the U.S., but will go to South America. We have the new Polo and the T-Cross in Brazil, but for North America, this car is also too small," he told Autoblog.

That doesn't mean Volkswagen isn't planning something smaller than the Tiguan for the U.S. Welsch explained the company is working on a new model for China that will launch late next year. The model will around the size of the Tiguan Limited and feature gas and plug-in hybrid powertrains. There is talk about this vehicle coming to the U.S.

"We are checking the feasibility of a car which is right between T-Roc and Tiguan, and this could be interesting for America," Welsch said.

"In the U.S., you have Tiguan long wheelbase, and the other [new] one is close to what we have here in Europe as the Tiguan SWB. It's a little bit smaller than that, about the size of the old Tiguan, but new and it's off the MQB. This is the idea behind it. In China, we will have this car next year, and we are thinking whether this could be a good idea for America and Russia."

Source: Autoblog