The next midsized crossover from Volkswagen is still in its early stages.

The production body for the model has been built. The brand has released a teaser image for the car with its engineering unit posing in front of the build.

The midsized CUV is under production at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant. While it is still in production phase, the company has confirmed that they are going to push it to production so that the car could be ready for sale in 2017. The manufacturing dates are pegged towards the end of this year. Named as the Crossblue concept car, the CUV is quite large and is a unique offering from VW which has a three row passenger seat. The vehicle is confirmed to be above the Tiguan in terms of luxury, space and comfort level.

In their launch, VW people confirmed that they have completed the production test body for the midsized crossover. The metal portion of the car is complete. It is expected to pose a strong competition for the Honda Pilot and the Toyota Highlander. Most companies would refrain from showing their vehicle to the public before it goes into production. But, Volkswagen has taken the most unorthodox route possible by revealing the metal casing. While it is considered to put off potential buyers, it does have the possibility to excite people for the model and buy it when it officially arrives next year.

The CrossBlue concept was showcased to the public about three years ago and it took a long time for it to go into production. However, with the midsized crossover being one of the biggest cars from Volkswagen, it is obvious that they will put in a lot of work to bring out the best results out of it. The first test body which has been showcased in the image is to check the process and the equipment to be used in it. Once it successfully syncs with the body, other components can be mounted in it, said a Volkswagen representative.

A couple of weeks ago a Volkswagen mule with a three row seater was spotted testing in the cold winter. The car’s design shared a lot of common aspects with the Crossblue concept car. The brand didn’t comment on the same. The concept car was originally launched at the Detroit motor show held in 2013. The car has some similarities to the Tiguan as it is built on the same MQB platform but is expected to be different in its own respect.