Volkswagen's Atlas Strategy: Plug the Hole Now, Worry About Choice Later

The journey Volkswagen’s uber-American midsize crossover took between CrossBlue concept and Atlas production model was a long one, but it isn’t over.

Though production begins next month in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the model created in the hopes of tapping America’s utility vehicle addiction leaves many questions about its future unanswered.

Speaking to Wards Auto, Matthias Erb, chief engineering officer for VW in North America and head of its Chattanooga engineering center, implies that getting the model to customers in any form was Job No. 1 for the struggling automaker.

Sporting three rows and styling that can only be described as generic, the Atlas is the vanguard of VW’s SUV-heavy push into the U.S. marketplace. The automaker is counting on the Atlas and future utility models to reclaim sales ground lost due to the diesel emissions scandal. There’s also that pesky issue of buyers shunning cars — VW’s traditional sales territory — in growing numbers.

The Atlas closes “the biggest gap” in the automaker’s lineup, Erb told Wards Auto.

It was long rumored that the model would come in a plug-in hybrid version, but that plan isn’t set in stone. Erb claims the company hasn’t yet decided if a heavily electrified version should join the Atlas range.

“This is a thing we are still discussing, Erb said. “At the moment, the plug-in is not so very attractive to us because of the upstream emissions (greenhouse gasses produced in the generation of electricity).”

He added, “We really don’t know how attractive those cars are anymore because the CO2 balance is not much better than the balance of (conventional) hybrid vehicles.”

A plug-in is still possible, but so is a conventional hybrid, he said. As well, VW is open to letting other models carry the hybrid burden, even though Erb admits there are customers willing to pay a premium for the technology.

“This is open,” he said. “We have a certain strategy, and I can’t really talk about that, but we’re still considering where (in the model lineup) to electrify and where not to electrify so much.”

The automaker has a range of hybrids and battery electric vehicles planned as part of its 2025 product strategy. Development carries a steep price tag, and the Atlas sits at the core of VW’s fundraising efforts.

Offered initially in a seven-seat configuration to battle the likes of the Ford Explorer and other mid-sizers, a more stripped-down Atlas variant could be on the way.

“If you look into the SUV segment, you can see that it is kind of separated into two parts, 7-seaters and 5-seaters, and in our opinion it would make perfect sense to also offer a 5-seater,” Erb said. It’s possible that the Atlas could sport two wheelbase lengths in the future, he added.

[Image: © 2016 Seth Parks/The Truth About Cars]