Volkswagen is asking you to name its new small SUV

06 February 2025 - 08:22
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A teaser picture of the new VW Tera to be launched in Brazil next month.
A teaser picture of the new VW Tera to be launched in Brazil next month.
Image: Carros.ig.com

Volkswagen Group Africa (VWGA) will hold a public competition to find a name for its new compact SUV to be built and sold in South Africa from 2027.

There are four “African” names mooted for the vehicle and a campaign will be launched in March calling on the public to choose one, said VWGA MD Martina Biene at the company’s media event in Kariega this week.

VW announced a year ago that a new Polo-based crossover would be built at its Kariega plant in a R4bn investment. The vehicle will slot under the imported T-Cross as VW’s smallest and most affordable SUV and will be built alongside the Polo and Polo Vivo.

The new car will next month have its global debut in Brazil where it will be called the Tera, but a different moniker will be chosen for South Africa, confirmed Biene. Though all VW’s existing SUVs and crossovers start with the letter “T” (including Tiguan, Taigo and Touareg), that will not necessarily be the case for the new car, she said.

Not much is known about the vehicle except that it is based on the Polo hatchback and will compete in the budget SUV segment against rivals such as the Nissan Magnite, Hyundai Venue and Toyota Starlet Cross.

More technical details will be revealed when the Tera is unveiled in Brazil next month.


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