Lost amid the automaker’s newfound focus on bringing as many utility vehicles to global customers as possible, Volkswagen’s stalwart Jetta soldiers on without a diesel option, wearing more or less the same duds it donned for 2011. A mild — some would say unnoticeable — refresh came in 2016, but the Jetta’s U.S. sales have continued to slide at a remarkably steady rate ever since the current generation’s debut.

Naturally, Volkswagen wants to arrest the plunge. As part of its newly crafted product strategy, the automaker plans to find time for a new Jetta among all the crossovers.

In an annual meeting held May 5, Volkswagen brand CEO Herbert Diess outlined the company’s 2017 product schedule. Already the three-row Atlas is rolling off its Chattanooga assembly line, while the 2018 Tiguan (known as the Tiguan Allspace overseas) began production in March. The 2018 Jetta is listed for a December launch.

The next-generation Jetta promises a top-down revamp, with the compact moving to the company’s MQB modular architecture and adopting a more contemporary design. Engine offerings aren’t known, but the automaker has said it plans to cull a number of ICEs in the near future. Expect the 1.4-liter four-cylinder to remain as the Jetta’s frugal base powerplant. Industry journal Automotive News claims the 1.8-liter turbocharged four will likely disappear from the lineup.

While we haven’t seen spy shots or renderings of the next Jetta, seven months isn’t a long time in the life of a product. We should know more details by this summer.

Two products expected to bow in overseas markets this year will likely find their way across the Atlantic next year. VW hasn’t confirmed an arrival date for the T-Roc compact crossover or the larger next-generation Touraeg, though the U.S. remains a top market for the brand’s utility push. The luxurious CC replacement, the Arteon, will also arrive next year.

[Image: Volkswagen/YouTube]