This past spring at the Beijing Auto Show, VW unveiled the New Midsize Concept (NMC), a study previewing a stylish rival for the Mercedes-Benz CLA. Fast forward to today’s Chengdu Auto Show and that production sedan is already a reality.

Called Ling Du (凌渡) in China, the sedan is based on the MQB platform, the same used by VW Group’s latest compact cars including the Golf Mk7. The engine lineup consists of two 1.4 TSI and 2.0 TSI four-cylinder petrol engines, both linked to a seven-speed DSG transmission.

Targeting cars like the Mercedes-Benz CLA, the Lamando will be built in China by the Shanghai-Volkswagen joint-venture and will go on sale in November at a starting price of around 180,000 yuan ($29,300). VW hopes the car will appeal to young Chinese buyers who are in the market for a more stylish than the Jetta but cannot afford a VW CC.

Although VW likes to call it a four-door coupe, the Lamando looks just like a sedan, and the boot’s volume of 500 liters (17.6 cu-ft) is a further testimony to that. There are rumors that the Lamando will be produced in Mexico as well, but VW hasn’t said anything about that yet.

Story references: CarNewsChina

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