VW to build new seven-seat SUV

The upcoming VW budget seven-seat SUV will make production within three years, but it is likely to be sold only in the US and Russian markets.

This new SUV will be built on the larger MQB platform that will also underpin the next generation Passat, according to VW USA boss Jonathan Browning, and would sit below the Touareg in the VW range. This is similar to the new midsize sedan (NMS) which is larger and less-expensive. 

“The problem we have is that the Touareg is our current competitor in the class, but it is smaller and more expensive than the likes of the Ford Explorer,” said Browning. “That category of car is one of the biggest for sales in the US, so we are pushing to get a large family-oriented SUV in that sector.”

Volkswagen wants to become the world’s largest carmaker by the end of the decade and is attempting to develop new vehicles for market sectors it doesn’t yet compete in.