Confirmed: The Upcoming Volkswagen Atlas Hybrid Will Be Joined By a Tiguan Hybrid
The three-row Atlas will also spawn a second generation of the two-row Atlas Cross Sport, likely launching sometime next year.
The Atlas Cross Sport will also receive the new hybrid powertrain, bringing Volkswagen’s hybrid count up to three.
When Volkswagen pulled the covers off the second-generation 2027 Atlas SUV last night, the sole powertrain under the hood was an evolved version of the turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder. But Volkswagen also promised that a hybrid variant would arrive with the SUV’s mid-cycle refresh, and today, at the New York auto show, Kjell Gruner, the CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, revealed more plans for the hybrid powertrain and another version of the Atlas.
Volkswagen
The Atlas currently has a two-row sibling called the Atlas Cross Sport, which shares the same wheelbase but is slightly shorter and features a sloping roofline. Volkswagen sold 102,608 units of the Atlas family in 2025, with the standard Atlas making up roughly 70 percent of the sales, meaning the Atlas Cross Sport accounted for the remaining 30 percent. Now we know the Cross Sport has a future too.
“We will also then show in due time the Atlas Cross Sport,” Gruner confirmed. When asked if the Cross Sport will appear in one or two years, he said, “Not two years.” Given Gruner’s comments, we expect the second-generation Atlas Cross Sport will be revealed sometime in 2027 as a 2028 model year, when it should follow a similar formula as the current Atlas, albeit with a more rakish roofline and only two rows of seats.
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Gruner also expounded upon the company’s hybrid plans. “It’s going to be a full hybrid, for the Tiguan as well as the Atlas and the Cross Sport, so there will be three vehicles,” the CEO confirmed. “Then with that portfolio, having ICE, full hybrid, EVs, I think then we’re going to be in a position where we are resilient against whatever happens.”
Atlas Cross SportVolkswagen
While Gruner told us last year that Volkswagen would build two hybrids based on its volume models, this is the first official statement that the Tiguan will be one of those hybrids, and the first time we’ve heard of a third hybrid model. The Tiguan is an obvious choice for a hybrid powertrain, with Volkswagen selling 78,621 units in the U.S. last year, a strong result even if the sales dipped as VW transitioned to the latest third-generation model.
The executive confirmed that the new powertrain will be a traditional hybrid—not a plug-in hybrid—due to the small market size for PHEVs, as well as the added weight and costs that come with a larger battery. While VW would like to have the Atlas hybrid here earlier, there’s a good reason for the delay.
“The hybrid needs to be U.S.-specific, so there’s nothing on the shelf that we can just take because of the requirements of the U.S. market,” Gruner explained. “This is developed and then also produced here in the U.S, so . . . it’s not only engineering the vehicle, but it’s also that supply chain needs to build up from the battery, the gearbox, etc. That’s why it takes longer than we wanted to.”
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We think the Atlas Hybrid will arrive in 2029, and the Tiguan Hybrid could arrive around the same time with a similar powertrain setup. More details should emerge in the next couple of years.
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