VW Up SUV & Cross Coupe SUV to go in to production

VW Up SUV planned based on Buggy Up Concept

Volkswagen are to add two new compact SUVs to their range below the Tiguan, expected to be the VW Up SUV and Cross Coupe.

There’s no question that one of the biggest new markets for cars is the compact SUV. From the Nissan Juke to the Vauxhall Mokka to the Ford EcoSport there seems to be an endless appetite for butch little urban warriors.

According to the German business publication Handelsblatt today, VW are planning to build a VW Up SUV based on the Up Buggy concept and take the Cross Coupe Concept we saw at the Tokyo Motor Show in to production.

Handelsblatt has given no time frame for VW’s two new SUVs, but with the market growing quickly and concepts already show it seems likely we could see production compact SUVs as early as 2013.

That would allow VW to keep in touch with new cars like the Mokka from Opel and Vauxhall, the Ecosport from Ford and the Peugeot 2008.

With a compact SUV market place that numbered some 200,000 cars in 2011 and forecast to grow to 500,000 cars by 2018 it’s a sector VW can’t afford to ignore.

Handelsblatt expect the VW Up SUV to sell for under £16,000, but we could see VW try and position any production version of the Cross Coupe SUV as a ‘Style’ product (just as Land Rover have with the Evoque) and look for premium prices for a smaller car than the Tiguan.