The Volkswagen brand is planning its first convertible SUV to be produced from the first half of 2020.
The group supervisory board has approved a spend of EUR80m on the Osnabruck plant which will build the T-Roc variant. The former Karmann plant has a long history of building cabriolets for VW.
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VW brand CEO Herbert Diess said: “Volkswagen is evolving into an SUV brand. The T-Roc is already setting new standards in the compact SUV segment. With the cabriolet based on the T-Roc, we will be adding a highly emotional model to the range. I am especially pleased to note that we can count on the Osnabruck team’s decades of experience with convertibles. The Osnabruck plant now has bright prospects for the future.”
VW said SUVs are making a key contribution to the growth of the core group brand. By 2020, the brand intends to expand its SUV range worldwide to 20 models. By then, about 40% of its vehicles will be SUVs.
With the new cabriolet based on the T-Roc, Volkswagen will further reinforce its presence in the compact SUV segment, one of the fastest-growing segments in global automobile markets.
The EUR80m will provide modernisation of production technology, assembly and logistics at Osnabruck. An eventual volume of up to 20,000 vehicles per year is planned.
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By GlobalDataThis new model will continue VW’s cabriolet traditionwhich dates back almost 70 years to the original Beetle. The T-Roc hardtop was launched in Europe at the end of 2017 and the automaker has taken 40,000 orders so far.
Volkswagen Osnabruck currently has about 2,300 employees. In 2017, the plant assembled 76,000 units on three production lines – the VW Tiguan and Porsche Cayman. The plant also does part of the paint work for the Skoda Fabia. The plant has built 280,000 since VW took it over in 2011.
Valmet acquired the roof systems business.
