The Volkswagen Golf Alltrack and Golf SportWagen will cease production at the end of the year. The automaker says continued demand for SUVs by American consumers influenced the decision. As of the first half of 2019, SUVs account for 47 percent of the industry’s sales, and more than 50 percent of VW’s sales. Within VW’s portfolio, the Atlas and Tiguan remain the strongest, with the highest year-over-year percentage growth among mainstream automotive brands in the first six months of 2019, according to the company.
New Market Strategy
VW is now directing their focus accordingly and will release three new SUVs over the next two years. The five-seat Atlas Cross Sport will arrive this year, while the electric ID. CROZZ will debut early next year. By 2021, a smaller SUV will slot beneath the Tiguan. Company leaders say VW’s latest EV platform will give them the flexibility to better adapt to a changing market. ?SUVs have definitely assumed the mantle of family haulers from the station wagons and minivans we remember from our childhoods,? explained Scott Keogh, President and CEO, Volkswagen of America, Inc. ?But as we look towards the future, both our expanded SUV lineup and the upcoming ID. family of electric vehicles will bring the opportunity to combine the style and space people want in a variety of ways. As the ID. BUZZ concept demonstrates, the flexibility of our EV platform gives us the ability to revive body styles of the past, so anything is po...