Public will have a choice of four monikers for the newcomer that will be assembled locally at Kariega plant, and go on-sale in 2027.
With the first round of updates at its Kariega plant completed, Volkswagen has released details of the monikers its new SUV will be sold under come its market arrival in 2027.
Call to vote
While known as the Tera in Brazil, where sales kicked-off last month, the joint venture model between Volkswagen do Brasil, Volkswagen Group Africa and Skoda India will have a name Wolfsburg’s executive described as distinctly African at its annual product Indaba in February.
Confirmed to be selected by the public via an online vote, the automaker’s Facebook page has released four names South Africans will have to decide from, complete with their respective meanings.
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Falling within Volkswagen’s naming convention for SUVs by starting with the letter “T”, the choice of names are as follows:
- Tengo: defined as a “rich cultural significance in African language and describes qualities like strength, resilience and purpose”
- Tavi: “a gender natural world meaning good or beloved in Latin and also eight
- Tiva: a word that “means nature in Hebrew and is also associated with vitality, life and energy”
- Tion: “signifies aesthetic appeal and evokes a sense of movement and change”
Set to be showcased in pre-production guise at its 2026 Indaba, followed by the commencing of production soon after, the eventual name will most likely be disclosed next year in readiness for sales starting in 2027.
What to expect?
The long known “third model” that will be built alongside the Polo and Polo Vivo at the factory located in the town formerly known as Uitenhage, the internally named “MQB A0 Entry SUV” will become Volkswagen’s smallest SUV in South Africa as European production of the T-Cross is reportedly ending next year.
First shown as the Skoda Kylaq in India last year, and then subsequently as the Tera in Brazil, the newcomer will likely the follow the former in making use of the 1.0 TSI engine that also omits the turbocharger in the latter.
In the Kylaq, outputs stand at 85kW/178Nm regardless of being mated to the six-speed manual gearbox or a six-speed Tiptronic gearbox, while in the Tera, the unit makes 81kW/165Nm connected to the five-speed manual and 85kW/170Nm when hooked to the Tiptronic.
A crucial model
Priced from the equivalent of under R330 000 in Brazil, the MQB A0’s anticipated replacing of the T-Cross comes admits the latter’s discontinuation in favour of the all-electric ID.2X in Europe next year.
For developing markets, this will leave it as Wolfsburg’s range opener, which for South Africa, is the result of a R4-billion investment into the Kariega plant that resulted in a month-long shutdown between March and April for the installation of 100 robots, new conveyor belts in the final assembly area, and revisions to the body paint shops.
More soon
Although still some ways off, the revealing of the names, plus the first phase of factory readiness now being completed, points to systematically divulging of more information over the coming 18 months.
As such, expect Volkswagen to disclose more details throughout 2025.
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