Volkswagen’s Passat Coupé, Tiguan, Scirocco and the next Golf have fallen foul of a dramatic recall to the drawing board.
In what could be a very costly move, Volkswagen is sending four of its most eagerly anticipated models back to the drawing board.
The Passat Coupé, already revealed in production form at the Los Angeles Show in November, was to be unveiled at a gala presentation in Berlin on February 15. However, the unveiling is to be put on hold pending a product evaluation by the new Volkswagen Group chairman Martin Winterkorn.
The move comes as part of Winterkorn’s revised management plan to utilise the input of former Audi officials such as Walter de’Silva (design), Wolfgang Hatz (engine development), Ulrich Hackenberg (vehicle development), Matthias Müller (product planning) and Jochem Heizmann (production) – who now work for VW.
The Tiguan, Scirocco and sixth-generation Golf were due to go on sale within the next 12 months, but it appears that the models’ introductions might (and probably will) be delayed until the team has thrashed out the final details.
Winterkorn wishes to make the front end of the new cars look more uniform in appearance. One of the consequences of the change is the replacement of the Scirocco’s designer and VW head of design, Maurat Günak, by de’Silva.
Hackenberg claims to have identified a number of areas where the next Golf can be improved, while Winterkorn is said to be disappointed with the Tiguan.
Former VW chairman Bernd Pischetsrieder pushed for the development of the Passat Coupé, Tiguan and Scirocco in an attempt to lessen the company’s financial dependence on volume-selling models such as the Golf, while simultaneously gaining a foothold in a number of new market niches.
Winterkorn did a sterling job of guiding Audi to record sales and profits, but his decision on the Passat Coupé could potentially cost the company dearly, as preparations for the model at the company’s Emden plant in Germany are already under way.
“We are in the process of evaluating the entire business,” commented Winterkorn. “It will take some time before we can move forward with decisions on new products”.
In an industry where quick reactions can be the difference between huge success and equally big failure, it will be interesting to see how Winterkorn and Volkswagen handle this dramatic decision.