Volkswagen’s fervent efforts to capitalise on the SUV boom has seen it introduce 14 collective SUVs for the global market, up from just two a few years ago. Company R&D chief Frank Welsch recently told Autocar that it has enough SUVs, for now.
“I don’t think [the growth in SUVs] is over, but we have enough. We do not need 10 more. We have to take care. We must have a portfolio that is efficient as a volume player. If we have too many models and sell 30,000 or 40,000 units a year, we can’t make money. We will focus on the cars that can be successful,” he said.
The Wolfsburg giant’s forthcoming SUV model will be the all-electric ID.4, and will be offered in standard and coupé variants. However, Welsch said some MQB-based models will be culled from the line-up, but this will be done “step by step.”
He did not single out names, but the MQB underpins a wide range of cars, from the Polo to the Passat, as well as the Tiguan and some MPVs. While some cars are destined for the chopping block, Welsch said the number of cars it will offer will be similar.
“I don’t think we’ll have more cars than we have today. For SUVs, we are represented in every segment,” he said. Meanwhile, it’s just been revealed that the Volkswagen Tiguan is the company’s best-selling model by far, with production breaking past the six million unit mark.
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SUV was my fav segment back in the day when sedan was too mainstream, I remember drooling over an ugly Cayenne Turbo S, and weirdly shaped BMW X6 when it was first launched, all while could only afford a CR-V.
Now SUV is everywhere that I loath some of them pretending to be an SUV. I’m back to using sedan and drooling over wagon like the latest Volvo V60 or Panamera Sport Turismo.