Core model and profit focus brings an end to Volkswagen Arteon

Quietly dropped by Volkswagen South Africa before its mid-life facelift three years ago, Wolfsburg has confirmed that the coupe-styled Arteon won’t be renewed for a second generation once the current derivative reaching the end of its lifecycle.

ID.7 taking over

The result of Volkswagen’s “Accelerate Forward | Road to 6.5” product strategy aimed at improving earnings amounting to €10-billion by 2026, while continuing to focus on electrification, the slow-selling Arteon is expected to be replaced by the ID.7 that will go on-sale before the end of this year.

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“We will focus on a small number of – though genuine – Volkswagen core models. This will reduce complexity and deliver higher profits,” Volkswagen Passenger Vehicle Brand CEO Thomas Schäfer said in a statement.

The end of the Arteon and its estate-styled Shooting Brake sibling, as well as the performance R offshoots, will leave the next generation Passat as the sole large family car in Europe, albeit only in station wagon form due to its popularity over the sedan.

As is known by now, the ID.7 will also takeover from the Passat sedan, thereby becoming a two-fold model replacement, but only in Europe as plans for availability in North America and Australia amongst others remain unknown.

For the time being, the markets in question won’t have a direct replacement once production and sales of the Passat and Arteon end.

Short stay in South Africa

As mentioned, matters are more clear-cut in South Africa where the three-tier Arteon range, the 2.0 TDI Elegance and R-Line, and the flagship 2.0 TSI R-Line 4Motion, departed in early 2020 after less than two years as a result of buyers gravitating from sedans to SUVs.

The meant South Africa missed-out not only on the Shooting Brake, but also the R that produces the same 235kW/420Nm as the Golf 8 R, which allows for a claimed top speed of 250 km/h and 0-100 km/h in less than five seconds.

At time of its local market reveal, the Arteon had been one of Volkswagen’s most expensive and plush models with pricing from R599 900 to R699 900.

In total, 416 Arteons were sold until February 2020 before the onset of the pandemic at which time, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) temporality halted the publish of individual vehicle sales for a number of months.

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