VW Compact SUV to be built in Portugal

The upcoming 2007 VW Compact SUV, Beduin, will be built at the Palmela plant in Portugal as recommended by the Brand Product Strategy Committee of Volkswagen AG. The primary reason for this decision is the $1,220 per vehicle cost saving compared to building it in Wolfsburg. The Golf-based SUV will compete directly with the likes of Toyota RAV4, Honda CRV and BMW X3 in the already crowded compact SUV segment – a difficult but necessary endeavor for VW.