VW News: Volkswagen Touareg Disappears from U.S. Lineup Next Year

[William Maley]

2017 will be the last year Volkswagen sells the Touareg in the U.S., according to Motor Trend.

While a reason as to why wasn't given, we have to think declining sales played a key role. The past few years have seen sales fall at a steady rate - 2016 saw a 40 percent drop to 4,223 units. 2017 isn't faring any better with 1,630 Touaregs sold through June. There is also the model being squeezed by the larger Atlas crossover and the upcoming Tiguan, which is slightly longer than the Touareg.

Volkswagen will continue to sell the Touareg in other markets, with the next-generation model due out later this year.

Source: Motor Trend

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[Robert Hall]

A VW at an Audi price point never made sense...I've read the 1st gen models were pretty capable as a 4x4... haven't seen many of the 2nd gen models.

[Frisky Dingo]

This is a shame, but it's no surprise.

This vehicle was neglected for too many years, and wasn't given the updates and tech necessary to remain competitive in today's market. Combined with the price, it was a double whammy. The tooling for this thing had to have paid for itself eons ago, and I can't figure out why VW wasn't able to figure out how to lower the cost. They were 5K overpriced on the low end, and had no incentives to make matters worse.

The irony is that since the Atlas came out, we have seen a lot more interest in the Touareg by proxy. Used Touareg sales at our dealer have gone through the roof. I don't have a way to get exact figures, but if I were to look at monthly sales, I bet they've quadrupled. And that's being conservative.

I hope we get the next-gen model. The current one really is a fantastic vehicle that is just missing a few, but key, ingredients to be competitive. 

[smk4565]

I think the Toureg is actually priced higher or at least the same as the Audi Q7 which is larger, and an Audi.  So it never made sense to have a VW SUV in the $50-70k range.    Makes sense to drop it, and they need an SUV under the Tiguan to have 3.  They could get one in between Tiguan and Atlas I think too.

[Frisky Dingo]

3 minutes ago, smk4565 said:

I think the Toureg is actually priced higher or at least the same as the Audi Q7 which is larger, and an Audi.  So it never made sense to have a VW SUV in the $50-70k range.    Makes sense to drop it, and they need an SUV under the Tiguan to have 3.  They could get one in between Tiguan and Atlas I think too.

There will be models in both of those slots.

For the time being, the old Tiguan will continue to be built under the 'Limited' badge, until an all-new offering is ready to take it's place, perhaps the T-Roc.

There will also be a 2-row variant of the Atlas that comes online at the Chattanooga plant.