When the Volkswagen Group outlined its massive cost-cutting agenda last week, there was no mention of plant closures or layoffs. However, the German automotive giant did speak openly about its plan to cut as much as 50 percent of its current model portfolio by 2030. As if that wasn’t bad enough, between now and the end of the decade, the number of available options will be slashed by 75 percent. At the same time, annual production capacity will fall from the current 10 million to just 9 million vehicles.
Although the company won’t phase out models overnight, we did notice a sense of urgency in the press release. The first steps toward reducing model and variant complexity across the product portfolio have already been taken with "immediate effect," which can only mean some nameplates are already living on borrowed time. Not only that, but German newspaper Bild claims to have a preliminary list of models potentially facing the axe.
View Price on AmazonAt the Volkswagen core brand, the Jetta and Taos are apparently not going to live to see a next generation. Hardly anyone will miss the crossover, but the sedan has been a staple of the company’s portfolio for nearly 40 years. While demand for sedans clearly isn’t what it was a couple of decades ago, they’re still reasonably popular. Other mainstream brands, such as Honda and Toyota, have made the math work in their favor, but the Jetta appears to be another victim of VW’s cost-cutting.
The "concrete list of discontinued models" mentioned by Bild also includes multiple vehicles carrying the Porsche crest. The slow-selling Taycan electric sedan will allegedly die after the current generation runs its course, without receiving a direct successor. Similarly, the combustion-powered Cayenne Coupe is said to be on its last legs.
But the one that really stings is the purported cancellation of the gas-powered 718's return. Even though Porsche’s "strategic realignment," announced last September, called for an ICE comeback for the range-topping Boxster and Cayman models, it may not happen after all. Curiously, Bild does not mention the fully electric 718s, so we can deduce that the two-door EV sports cars are still happening.
Source: motor1.com
