New VW Crossover Concept to Debut at Detroit Auto Show

VW's crossover concept

Volkswagen AG will use next month's Detroit auto show to unveil a concept for a small five-passenger variant of the seven-passenger crossover it will begin making in Tennessee in 2016, sources tell Reuters.

VW confirms it will present a concept crossover but declines to provide further details ahead of the mid-January show. The would-be model is likely to be approved for production by 2017, according to Reuters' sources.

Another crossover would help expand VW's lineup in the U.S., which current offers several small car models but only two crossovers: the midsize Touareg and compact Tiguan.

The company broke an 18-month sales slide in the U.S. in October. But its sales through the first 11 months of 2014 were 332,900 units, down 11% from the same period last year, according to Autodata Corp. Analysts blame much of the slump on the relatively skimpy product portfolio offered by the company in the American market.