Volkswagen has confirmed that it plans to produce a cabriolet version of the T-Roc crossover, with the Wolfsburg-based automaker?s first convertible SUV set to be launched in the first half of 2020.
Along with the release of an early teaser sketch (see below), VW announced that more than ?80-million would be invested in the Osnabr?ck plant ahead of production of the new vehicle, allowing the ?comprehensive modernisation of production technology, assembly and logistics?. An eventual production volume of ?up to 20 000 vehicles per year? is planned.
Of course, we shouldn?t be too surprised by the fact Volkswagen is entering the convertible SUV space with its little crossover, considering that the original T-Roc concept of 2014 featured a targa-top arrangement, while the T-Cross Breeze concept revealed two years later (and pictured above) adopted a conventional soft-top.
Indeed, by 2020, the brand intends to have expanded its SUV range throughout the world to 20 models, and creating a convertible SUV ? much like Land Rover has done with its Range Rover Evoque Convertible ? is one of the ways it hopes to reach that goal.
“Volkswagen is evolving into an SUV brand. The T-Roc is already setting new standards in the compact SUV segment. With the cabriolet based on the T-Roc, we will be adding a highly emotional model to the range,? said Dr. Herbert Diess, CEO of the Volkswagen brand.
?I am especially pleased to note that we can count on the Osnabr?ck team’s decades of experience with convertibles. The Osnabr?ck plant now has bright prospects for the future.”
