BERLIN -- German auto maker Volkswagen AG said Thursday it plans to launch 20 new models within the next five years.

"Ten of them will be entirely new models," said Wolfgang Bernhard, who heads the auto maker's VW Brand Group division. The other 10 will be derivatives of already existing model lines. "We're pushing forward on the product side," Mr. Bernhard said during the presentation of a new concept car in Berlin.

The new concept car, named Concept A, represents a new push by Volkswagen to return to its roots as the maker of the "people's car," following a troubled bid for luxury status that has contributed to falling sales in the U.S.

The company, which last year announced it would pull its luxury Phaeton sedan from the U.S. market because of disappointing sales, is expected to post a loss of as much as $1.2 billion (€1 billion) in North America for 2005 when it holds its annual press conference in March.

The VW concept shown to journalists combines features of an SUV and a coupe and is expected to cost somewhere in the range of $20,000 to $30,000. The final price will likely depend on what kinds of features Volkswagen chooses for the final design.

The model shown to journalists on Thursday has a long hood, slightly slanted headlights, a bold radiator grille and front and rear doors that open facing each other, to allow for easy entry. A Volkswagen spokesman said the car that ultimately emerges from the design study will likely be launched in 2008. It is expected to compete against BMW AG's X-3 and Toyota Motor Corp.'s Rav4.

Although sales of large SUVs made by Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. have been slipping recently amid high gas prices, Mr. Bernhard says his company foresees healthy demand for more compact SUVs, particularly among young professionals and young families. He calls the concept the "little brother of the Touareg," VW's large SUV and currently its only light-truck offering in the U.S.

"It's a very strong segment that we should be in," Mr. Bernhard said on the sidelines of Thursday's event. "What you see at first sight is an SUV with the face of a VW, but it's a new interpretation ... This is breaking new ground in America for VW customers."

The car is also leading VW to break new ground in its relations with its German labor unions. Last fall, VW labor representatives agreed to work longer hours for less pay to lower the vehicle's per-unit labor costs by €800 and guarantee that production of the new model will be assigned to its flagship Wolfsburg, Germany, factory.

The unions' concession followed a threat by Mr. Bernhard to build the car outside Germany, where hourly wages in the auto-manufacturing sector are the highest in the world -- an average of €34, according to the German Automotive Industry Association.