Volkswagen Group appears to be sharpening the knife as it looks for ways to trim costs and sharpen its competitive edge. Nothing has been officially confirmed by the automaker, but a fresh report out of Germany points to a list of underperforming models that could be heading for the chopping block.
Volkswagen Brand: Jetta And Taos Under Threat
According to German outlet Bild, the Volkswagen Jetta and Taos may not survive into their next generation. Losing the Jetta wouldn’t shock anyone given how badly sedans have been battered by the crossover boom, a trend that already convinced Volkswagen to pull the plug on the Passat in the American market.
The numbers tell the story. Volkswagen shifted just 15,949 Jettas in the United States during the second quarter, a 9.7 percent improvement year on year, yet nowhere close to rivals like the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Elantra and Kia K4, all of which sold well over 70,000 units apiece in the first half of the year.
The Taos tells an even more worrying tale. Despite sitting at the entry point of Volkswagen’s crossover range in America, a segment that’s normally thriving, the model only managed 7,794 sales in the second quarter, a steep 43.9 percent decline compared to the same period last year.
Skoda And Cupra Also Facing Cuts
Bild’s report suggests the Skoda Fabia could also be living on borrowed time, which is a bit of a head scratcher given the hatchback found 119,139 buyers last year, comfortably outselling both the Scala and Superb.
Over at Cupra, the recently launched Raval is rumoured to be canned after just one generation. It sounds harsh for a car that only hit the market a few months ago, but with the wider Volkswagen Group already offering a stable of similar electric models across its brands, overlap may be the deciding factor.
Audi And Porsche Could Lose Their Coupe SUVs
Audi’s crossover coupes may also be on the endangered list, with both the Q5 Sportback and Q6 E-tron Sportback tipped for the axe. Audi doesn’t release sales figures by body style, but industry consensus is that these swoopier variants trail well behind their standard SUV siblings in popularity.
Porsche isn’t immune either. The petrol powered Cayenne Coupe is said to be nearing the end of the road, and there’s a good chance Porsche will reverse course again on plans to bring combustion versions of the 718 Boxster and Cayman to market. Those two sports cars were originally meant to go electric only, before Porsche caved and confirmed petrol variants were still coming. Now it looks like those combustion models might never actually reach showrooms.
Taycan Sales Slump Raises Questions
Porsche’s electric Taycan could be facing its own reckoning too. Sales fell 22 percent last year to 16,339 units, with Porsche pointing to a broader slowdown in EV adoption as the main culprit.
Billions In Potential Savings
Bild estimates that trimming this list of models could save Volkswagen Group as much as €6.5 billion. It’s worth stressing that the list is described as preliminary, and further casualties, possibly including the Audi e-tron GT, wouldn’t be surprising.