VW to build convertible SUV
T-Roc cabrio confirmed for production in 2020.
Volkswagen will build a cabriolet version of its upcoming T-Roc baby SUV, giving drop-top fanciers an affordable alternative to the Range Rover Evoque convertible.
Set to go into production in 2020, the new machine is expected to be a niche model with around 20,000 examples built per year.
Volkswagen chief executive Herbert Diess says "Volkswagen is evolving into an SUV brand”, producing increasing numbers of high-riding models.
“The T-Roc is already setting new standards in the compact SUV segment,” he says.
“With the cabriolet based on the T-Roc, we will be adding a highly emotional model to the range.”
The convertible will be built in Osnabrück, Germany, where the current VW Tiguan and Porsche 718 Cayman are constructed.
It represents a spiritual successor to VW’s discontinued Golf Cabriolet and Eos convertibles, giving the brand a budget alternative to popular roadsters such as Mazda’s MX-5.
VW’s conventional five-door T-Roc, a rival to the Mazda CX-3 and Toyota C-HR, is expected arrive locally in 2020 following European production shortages.