September 10, 2018 01:00 AM

Pickup, EVs highlight VW's product plan

A VW pickup may be based on the Atlas Tanoak concept.

With a redesigned Jetta and a new, top-of-the-lineup Arteon sedan now in dealerships, Volkswagen will add a midsize pickup and prepare for the 2020 launch of its first electric vehicle in the U.S.

But before that, the brand must complete its previous work, redesigning the Passat onto its ubiquitous MQB platform and standardizing the sedan globally, even as consumers continue to move away quickly from sedans.

To answer customer demand for more crossovers, the German brand will introduce a two-row version of the Atlas crossover, the Atlas Cross Sport. The product shift will bring added pressure to boost sales in the long-struggling North American region, however.

Beetle: The iconic vehicle will be phased out in late 2019 or early 2020, at least in its current iteration. However, the name could return on an EV based on the automaker's new modular MEB platform. The timing of such a move is unclear.

Golf: The Golf family of compact cars was freshened for the 2018 model year. Expect a redesign in 2020.

Jetta: VW redesigned the compact sedan onto its MQB platform in 2018. It's not due for a freshening until 2022.

Passat: The midsize sedan will be redesigned and move onto the MQB platform in 2019 globally.

Arteon: The new midsize, five-seat sedan is arriving in U.S. dealerships and is not expected to be freshened until 2022.

Phaeton: VW hasn't completely abandoned plans to bring back the Phaeton nameplate as an electric luxury sedan, but it wouldn't happen before 2022. Though relatively inexpensive to develop because of the automaker's electric platform strategy, such an expensive niche product is not a priority for U.S. dealers or VW brand leaders, who are focusing on recapturing lost market share.

I.D. Crozz: The roomy electric crossover will feature all-wheel drive when it arrives in the U.S. in 2020 on VW's MEB EV architecture.

The I.D. Buzz, shown as a concept, is due in 2022.

I.D. Buzz: The retro-styled three-row electric minivan is due in the U.S. in 2022.

I.D.: The small electric hatchback will arrive in 2021. VW's EV lineup will feature onboard navigation with augmented reality.

EV: A fourth EV has been promised, but so far with no details.

T-Roc: Barring an outcry from dealers or a sudden shift in consumer preferences, the subcompact crossover will remain in Europe for the time being and not imported to the U.S.

Tiguan: The Tiguan Limited is expected to remain in the lineup as a budget play until 2020.

The three-row lineup is due for a freshening in 2021.

Atlas: The U.S.-built, three-row large crossover will be freshened in 2020.

Atlas Cross Sport: The shorter, two-row version of the Atlas will go into production in late 2019 at Volkswagen's plant in Chattanooga as a 2020 model.

Midsize pickup: Volkswagen must decide whether to give U.S. dealers a next-generation Amarok — essentially a rebadged body-on-frame Ford Ranger — or a unibody pickup built in Chattanooga that is derived from the Atlas-based Tanoak concept.

The decision will test the independence of Volkswagen Group of America from Wolfsburg, given the broadly positive consumer reaction to the Tanoak concept shown last spring at the New York auto show. Whichever design is chosen, it should appear in showrooms by 2021.

Commercial vehicles: They aren't in VW's U.S. product plans, though a recently announced partnership with Ford could allow for rebadged versions of the Ford Transit and Transit Connect commercial vans to be sold in the U.S. by the midpoint of next decade.