SPY PICS: VW Oz promises five new SUVs

Volkswagen Group Australia (VGA) has promised to deliver five new SUVs in local showrooms within the next 30 months, or by February 2019.

The first of these will be next month's second-generation Tiguan, which for the first time will spawn a long-wheelbase seven-seat 'XL' version – pictured here undisguised -- and a more curvaceous 'CC' or 'Coupe' model.

These will bring the number of new Tiguan models to three by the end of next year and all three SUVs have previously been confirmed for SUV-crazy Australia, where the seven-seater will arrive next year, followed by the four-seat in 2018.

VGA today confirmed the other two new SUVs will be a small SUV positioned beneath the new Tiguan and a larger seven-seat SUV "to appeal to families with older kids".

The former will be an all-new compact SUV (pictured here in disguise) based on the next-generation Polo hatchback, to rival popular city crossovers like the Mazda CX-3 and Honda HR-V.

Previewed by the convertible T-Cross Breeze concept car earlier this year and underpinned by the German car-maker's modular MQB platform, VW's new baby SUV is expected in production by 2018.

The new large SUV will be a long-overdue replacement for VW's original Touareg, which was previewed by the T-Prime GTE concept in China earlier this year.

Pictured here semi-disguised and based on the same lighter new MLB platform as the latest Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne, the new Touareg is due on sale next year and will for the first time be available with seven seats.

Meantime, the seven-seat Tiguan prototype pictured here -- snapped completely undisguised by Automedia on public roads in Germany – gets a 110mm wheelbase stretch, as well as a longer rear overhang, to help make space for the extra two passengers.

The rear doors are longer, too, enabling suitable access to the third-row seats, and the rearmost window gets a D-pillar kick-up to make it easily identifiable from short-wheelbase versions.

Expect the extended-wheelbase Tiguan to share its powertrains -- including petrol and diesel engines, and front- and all-wheel drive systems – with the regular new Tiguan.

Volkswagen Group Australia chief Michael Bartsch said the five new SUVs would allow VW to claim a greater slice of the significant growth in SUV popularity in Australia.

SUV sales are currently up 10 per cent this year and now account for 37 per cent of the total market, reducing the market share of passenger cars to just over 41 per cent.

Excluding the Golf Alltrack and Passat Alltrack crossovers, Volkswagen's local SUV range currently comprises only the original Tiguan and Touareg.

"In pasenger cars we're the fifth largest [brand by sales] without any fleets sales," he said. "With SUV we're 18th with a 1.5 per cent share.

"So you can see where we've got work to do."

SUVs coming from Volkswagen:
Tiguan -- September
Tiguan XL -- 2017
Touareg -- 2017
Tiguan Coupe -- 2018
Compact SUV -- Early 2019