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Volkswagen is entering the compact SUV sector in the UK as it moves to cover all market bases
by James Dallas
Volkswagen this month entered the compact SUV sector in the UK with the launch of the Tiguan as it moves towards its goal of achieving 95 per cent market coverage within two years.
The 4×4 Tiguan comes into the line-up as a little brother to the Touareg off-roader and echoes many of the larger vehicle’s visual characteristics and driving versatility.
Volkswagen is pitching the Tiguan as a direct rival to the Toyota Rav 4, Honda CRV and Land Rover Freelander – the leaders in a segment that it said accounts for 108,000 sales a year.
From launch the Tiguan is available with a 2.0-litre TDI 140PS diesel unit and a 1.4-litre TSI 150PS petrol engine.
In the second half of the year the line-up will be supplemented by 170PS diesel and petrol versions as well as a 200PS 2-litre petrol engine. Volkswagen claimed all engines meet the Euro 5 emissions standards that come into force in 2009.
The Tiguan is offered in four trim levels, including the Escape specification which has been adapted for off-road use.
Volkswagen expects just 5 per cent of customers to opt for the Escape derivative which features higher front end clearance.
The brand is confident a major selling point will be the Park Assist system pioneered on the Touran last year. Available as a £450 option the system takes over steering from the driver during reverse parallel parking.
The carmaker predicted sales of 10,500 in 2008 rising to 11,300 in 2009. More than 85 per cent of buyers are expected to choose a diesel engine with 60 per cent of sales going to private customers.
In 2008 the brand predicted 7,500 customers would come from competitors with the rest moving from other Volkswagen models such as Passat, Golf
and Touran.
Robin Woolcock, managing director of Volkswagen Group UK, claimed Tiguan sales in the UK would be limited by supply following the successful launch of the car in mainland Europe in October 2007.
“It’s not our style to oversupply the market,” he said and added that a major concern was to protect the vehicle’s residual values.
Woolcock said the Tiguan would account for 5 per cent of Volkswagen’s 200,000 annual sales and joined a market already three times the size of the large SUV sector in which the Touareg competes with 3,500 sales a year.
“Volkswagen is not only the people’s car but the car for all the people,” he said. “We want to be in every market sector.”