Volkswagen is reportedly planning to discontinue the Touareg SUV, with no direct replacement planned for now.
It has been more than 20 years since Volkswagen debuted its midsize premium SUV, the Volkswagen Touareg. Often dubbed the poor man’s Cayenne due to its shared underpinnings with the Porsche, it seems like the Touareg is heading for the sunset, as Volkswagen reportedly plans to discontinue the model in 2026.
While no plans were made on the direct successor to the Touareg (left), reports suggest that the SUV will be indirectly replaced by the VW Tayron (right).
According to Autocar UK, the decision to discontinue the Touareg stems from the changed priorities of the German automaker, with the SUV model being indirectly replaced by the Tayron. And yes, no direct successor for the Touareg is named for now.
Already on sale in several global markets like China and North America, the Tayron is touted to be a lower-cost alternative to the Touareg. Essentially a stretched-out version of the Tiguan, the Tayron SUV comes in both two- and three-row seating configurations, featuring a familiar 2.0-litre 4-cyl TSI engine with a 4Motion AWD system, plus a towing capacity of up to 2,500 kg.
The first-gen VW Touareg (left) shares many similarities with the original Porsche Cayenne (right).
Originally launched back in 2002, the Touareg was developed alongside the first-gen Porsche Cayenne, sharing the same PL71 platform and powertrain lineups as both the Porsche and another of its VW Group twins, the Audi Q7.
The original Touareg was developed with two main purposes, which are to provide Porsche a base for its first SUV model, as well as to elevate the Volkswagen brand to a more premium level—a dream of its former chairman Ferdinand Piëch.
While the Touareg is heading to the guillotine, we’d reckon its more premium-badged siblings, such as the aforementioned Porsche Cayenne and Audi Q7, won’t be facing the same fate soon. Besides VW’s plant in Slovakia, the Touareg is also locally assembled (CKD) at the HICOM Pekan plant alongside its Audi-badged twin, making Malaysia the first market outside of Europe to assemble both of the SUVs.
Volkswagen ID.5 EV crossover
Besides the Touareg, VW is also contemplating bringing the ID.5 to the chopping block, with the coupe-like crossover falling out of favor against its more practical and conventional-looking twin, the VW ID.4. Unlike the Touareg, however, its discontinuation will take place later in 2027, which is part of VW’s plan to streamline its model range.
VW ID.Buzz (left) & VW Touran MPV (right)
Part of this streamlining plan also sees VW potentially pulling the plug for the development of a new, smaller version of the ID.Buzz EV MPV, which was touted to be the all-electric successor to the Touran compact MPV.
Autocar UK cited its VW insiders, who said that this decision is also due to the limited engineering capacity at VW’s Braunschweig R&D centre in Germany, with all hands now reportedly on deck to develop more important models like the new, all-electric Golf.
Source: Autocar UK