Goodbye Volkswagen Touareg? Not really: the premium SUV could return in a new guise

Volkswagen is preparing to bid farewell to one of its most iconic models, although some industry experts predict a return in a different form: after more than two decades of career, in fact, the Touareg is heading towards the exit in its thermal engine version. However, its return in a 100% electric version seems increasingly likely.

Launched in 2002, the Touareg marked the German brand's entry into the premium SUV segment. In three generations and with a presence in 39 countries, the model has surpassed 1.2 million units sold, carving out a personal space within the market. The production of the current version will end by the end of the year, with a "Final Edition" available in some European markets until March 2026, which will represent the top version of the catalog.

According to sales manager Martin Sander, however, the name Touareg is not destined to disappear permanently. The executive emphasized that the model retains a well-defined role within the product portfolio, leaving room for potential future reintroductions of the model. In this context, the hypothesis of a large all-electric SUV has gained considerable traction, aimed at obviously inheriting the legacy of the current model.

The most plausible hypothesis is to include the Touareg under the new naming convention adopted by the Group. The possible name ID Touareg would reflect Volkswagen's strategy of marking battery-only models with the "ID" label. From a technical point of view, it is reasonable to imagine that the new iteration would be positioned in the high-end of the market. It is known that electric variants have a higher cost compared to thermal counterparts, so it is likely that an EV version would already exceed the psychological threshold of 100,000 euros from the base configuration.

It is equally true, however, that the EV sector is showing growth less marked than previously predicted by manufacturers. This means that an Touareg EV would be complex to integrate into the roadmap already outlined by Volkswagen, which is expected to be completed only in 2028 with the arrival of the ID Golf. Most likely, if it were to actually arrive, the ID Touareg would not be seen before 2029.

In fact, Volkswagen is progressively moving away from the numerical naming of electric models. By the end of the year, the ID Polo, heir to the currently proposed thermal engine model of the same name, should reach the market. Additionally, this year, the ID Cross, derived from the T-Cross, and the ID Tiguan, which will replace the current ID 4, are expected to debut in the market. Essentially, Volkswagen is expanding its EV range with an offering capable of covering most segments, but it considers it more coherent to maintain the names adopted so far to ensure a clear reference for customers.