Say goodbye to the Volkswagen Touareg... in the US, at least
The Tiguan will take its place, more or less, sharing that responsibility with the Atlas.
Volkswagen has two new crossovers this year, one with three standard rows of seating and one where it's an option. That doesn't leave a lot of room for its oldest model, the Tiguan, which is one of the reasons why it's going away.
Volkswagen will discontinue the Touareg in the US for the 2018 model year, Motor Trend reports. It will live on in other markets, and there's even a new generation coming on the Audi Q7's platform, but they won't see the light of day in these United States. Volkswagen confirmed the report via email.
Back in the good ol' days, Volkswagen used to shoehorn a V10 diesel engine in this bad boy.
One big reason for ditching the Touareg is its place in the lineup. VW's US lineup now includes the Atlas, a three-row big 'un built specifically with this market in mind. The Tiguan, which was redesigned for this year, now has the option of either two or three rows, and its revised interior features more cargo space than the current Touareg.
If that wasn't reason enough, its sales should put the last nail in the coffin. VW hasn't sold more than 1,000 Touaregs in a single month since December 2012. In 2016, the company only sold 4,223 of 'em. Compare this to the new Atlas, which over two months managed 4,023 sales. The Tiguan has enjoyed steady, strong sales for a few years -- in fact, 2016 was its best year ever, with 43,638 sales in the US.
With a number of electric vehicles and at least one more crossover on the way, VW's US lineup won't take a huge hit when the Touareg departs. It'll be sad to see it go, as it was a pretty solid ride, but bigger and better things are on the way.
