Volkswagen Teramont X is our Atlas five-seater

In China, Mexico, the Middle East, and Russia our Volkswagen Atlas is known as the Teramont. Volkswagen used Auto Shanghai to introduce the Teramont X, a five-seater version that will cross the Pacific with near-identical looks. Previewed by the Atlas Cross Sport Concept at the New York Auto Show last year for U.S. audiences, VW's already confirmed the SUV's arrival and that it will begin production later in 2019 at the carmaker's Chattanooga, Tennessee, plant.

Just a small fraction of the concept didn't make it through. Instead of LED pipes crossing the grille, patterned chrome trim connects thinner headlights. The interlocking chromed design in the lower grille has become a single angled piece of ornament. A front fender plaque could hide a vent.

The sloping roof leads to a much faster backlight and a brand new tailgate. Instead of the rear fascia lying in one plane, a scalloped middle creates three dimensions from upper to lower. New taillights stand at the edges above a sportier rear bumper and a reworked exhaust finisher graphic. The finished bodywork is about 5.5 inches shorter than the production Atlas, instead of seven inches shorter as on the Cross Sport concept, with a roofline a half-inch lower.

Inside, the only details picked up so far are a flat-bottomed steering wheel and stainless steel pedals.

The Teramont X was one of five SUVs that VW flew to Shanghai. The already-launched T-Cross came merely for the snacks. The brand launched the ID. Roomzz over the weekend, a taste of the eventual ID. Crozz that will come to America. The SMV concept seven-seater becomes a new flagship utility for the Chinese market, the SUV Coupe Concept a thinly disguised coupe version of the China-market Tayron. The showcase heralds a larger VW SUV presence in China, and the growth of the carmaker's global SUV and crossover lineup to more than 30 models by 2025.