New Volkswagen T-Cross, T-Roc won’t rob Polo, Golf

Volkswagen’s small SUV blitz won’t come at the expense of its traditional hatchback volume-sellers, the Golf and Polo.

So says Volkswagen Group Australia managing director Michael Bartsch, who believes the new Volkswagen T-Roc and T-Cross will complement rather than cannibalise the German brand’s existing Australian portfolio.

Having not fielded a small SUV in Australia before, Volkswagen will soon have two. The smallest member of its high-riding family, the Polo-based T-Cross, touched down in showrooms last month, while the slightly larger, Golf-based T-Roc arrives in August.

“They will complement each other,” Bartsch said of the pair being offered alongside Volkswagen’s traditional hatch stable.

“The hatch market is shrinking so quickly and the SUV segment currently accounts for 64 per cent of the overall market, sometimes climbing as high as 68 per cent on a monthly basis.

“The cannibalisation, if there’s any, will be very low. For anyone in the market for a small SUV, from A to A-0, our calculations on cross elasticity is very low.”

Whereas the T-Cross (from $27,990) is pitched as a logical rival to the Mazda CX-3 and Hyundai Kona, the slightly larger T-Roc (from $40,490) aims up at entry versions of the Audi Q2, BMW X2 and Mercedes-Benz GLA with edgier styling and an extensive suite of standard equipment.

The Volkswagen T-Cross measures 4108mm long, 1760mm wide and 1583mm high, and is powered by a 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine, while the all-wheel drive T-Roc is 4234mm long, 1819mm wide and 1573mm high, and draws power from a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder.

With equipment, styling and pricing differences taken into account, the two-pronged strategy will allow Volkswagen to cover all small SUV bases while offering sustainable growth, says Bartsch.

“The biggest issue for us is we haven’t had that coverage in the market, so T-Roc and T-Cross will be ostensibly incremental business,” he said.

“I think the bandwidth for us is between four to five per cent share. Again, the driver of that is we have to watch very closely pricing with exchange rate changes.”

The Volkswagen T-Cross in particular will face stiff competition from a host of new small SUVs from mainstream brands including the Hyundai Venue, which replaced the Accent hatch, and the new Kia Seltos and upcoming Kia Stonic.

Other new small SUVs due on sale in Australia this year include the new Nissan JUKE, all-new Ford Puma and all-new Toyota Yaris Cross and Corolla Cross.