All eyes on Volkswagen Taos

Volkswagen has today revealed the name of its latest small SUV, the Taos, along with a couple of teaser images.

Slotting underneath the popular Tiguan mid-size SUV in VW’s model line-up, the all-new Volkswagen Taos will target the North American market initially.

Details on the model are still thin on the ground, including specification and export markets.

Volkswagen Australia’s head of corporate communications Paul Pottinger told carsales there were “no plans around Taos at the moment” for the local market.

Given that Volkswagen has just launched two new small SUV models in Australia, the VW Golf-sized T-Roc and Polo-sized T-Cross, it’s not clear yet where the Taos would sit if it was offered here.

However, various car brands including Mitsubishi, Kia and Mazda have found value in offering multiple models in the same class given the incredible popularity of SUVs.

“T-Roc and T-Cross and Tiguan are doing well for us, we’re satisfied with our SUV line-up as it stands, but never say never,” said Pottinger about the Taos, refusing to rule it out for the local market.

The new SUV is expected to be built at Volkswagen’s Puebla plant in Mexico, picking up the slack left by the axing of the iconic Volkswagen Beetle.

Another US-centric SUV that Volkswagen Australia has been eyeing off is the Atlas, a seven-seat large SUV that would potentially deliver a more affordable alternative to the Touareg.

The Volkswagen Atlas is built at the German brand’s Chattanooga plant in Tennessee, USA, and VW Group of America CEO Scott Keogh previously said that right-hand drive exports to countries like Australia and South Africa were possible.

“Heck, if we can export cars that’s good for business, then why not,” he said.

“We would need to look closely at it, but we’ll discuss it, we’ll definitely discuss it.”

It’s understood there’s been no movement on the Aussie export business case for the VW Atlas.

The Volkswagen Tanoak ‘lifestyle’ dual-cab ute that was to be spun off the Atlas platform appears to have been shelved as the brand focuses on the next Amarok coming in 2022, which will be based on the new Australian-developed T7 Ford Ranger due in 2021.