Volkswagen bringing in T-Cross subcompact SUV

MANILA, Philippines — Volkswagen Philippines is banking on the T-Cross subcompact sports utility vehicle to drive up its sales and revive the brand in the country.

“The T-Cross is a vehicle that we hope will be ushering in a revival for the Volkswagen brand in Philippines. We are excited because it is an SUV. It will be a product offer that will fall in the subcompact SUV class and it will be the first we hope of several other SUVs that we are working to bring into the market,” Volkswagen Philippines president Felipe Estrella III said in an online roundtable meeting yesterday for the T-Cross, which is scheduled for public launch on May 26.

He said Volkswagen Philippines is making the T-Cross available to take part in the growing subcompact SUV segment.

“We do expect that segment to continue to be relevant and to continue to grow. That’s why we are offering a product there as well,” he said.

The T-Cross, which has the longest wheelbase in the five-seater subcompact SUV class, offers consumers space, comfort, as well as safety.

“We expect to be relevant in that segment and therefore, as a consequence of that, the T-Cross will be a volume contributor to the overall Volkswagen Philippines sales,” he said.

Volkswagen Philippines is already accepting reservations for the T-Cross and offering a P30,000 discount to customers who will reserve before the market introduction.

“We will be introducing the T-Cross at suggested retail prices (SRP) of P1.068 million for the S variant and P1.168 million for the SE variant and these prices are net of the P30,000 discount we are offering during this introductory period until market introduction,” Estrella said.

He said customers would be asked to make a deposit in addition to the SRP as the T-Cross is covered by the provisional safeguard duty imposed by the government.

Should the Tariff Commission decide there is no need for the safeguard measure, he said the deposit would be returned to customers.

Customers will be able to choose from the following colors: Tribu, Syringa Violet and Romance Red for the SE variant, and Polar White and Chinchilla Gray for the SE and S variants.