NEWS
VW rejects Taigun for Australia...
...And says mid-size four-door SUV 'coupe' will only be offered in left-hand drive marketsLast month, motoring.com.au reported that Volkswagen is considering an expansion of its SUV line-up to include both smaller and larger models.
However, it appears Australia will not be included in these plans, with both the Taigun micro SUV (pictured) and the as yet unnamed mid-size four-door SUV coupe struck from the list.
Volkswagen Australia managing director, John White, told motoring.com.au that although Australian buyers are indeed keen for more SUV models, the up!-based Taigun is simply too small for the local market.
"We have no plans to introduce the sub-light segment based Taigun, as this vehicle is too small for our market," stated White. "We do believe that a light segment SUV could have more interest in this market and we have also indicated our interest in offering a larger mid-sized SUV positioned between the Tiguan and Touareg.
"Unfortunately at this stage there are no products planned in right-hand drive which would fit in this segment."
Whether White was referring to the Golf-sized SUV referenced by Volkswagen's head of powertrain development Dr Heinz-Jakob Neusser recently or the smaller Polo-sized model also expected is unclear.
Though with two future SUV models anticipated to be developed on VW's MQB architecture, the odds that the Australian market will receive an SUV in addition to the Tiguan and Touareg is likely.
"We feel that our product offering in the SUV space is good but is not complete," White continued. "The Australian SUV market has experienced significant growth in recent years, and of course, Volkswagen has offered models within this space which have proved successful in Australia.
"With the planned introduction of the new Golf Alltrack and a replacement for the Passat Alltrack with the next generation we have some great options coming for our customers. We also have class-leading products in the Tiguan and Touareg which are an important part of our product range here in Australia."
The LHD-only Cross Coupe SUV is expected to go on sale in Europe in 2015, while the X-TRAIL rivalling seven-seat Tiguan XL (previewed by the Cross Blue concept) will appear in Chinese and US markets by early the following year. The sub-light Taigun is also expected before 2016.
Locally, Volkswagen is set to offer the Golf Alltrack towards the middle of 2015 with an all-new Tiguan to follow later in the second-half of 2016. A facelifted version of the Touareg large SUV will also arrive in Australia next year.
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Written byMatt Brogan
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If the price does not contain the notation that it is "Drive Away", the price may not include additional costs, such as stamp duty and other government charges.
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