Volkswagen South Africa has confirmed it has removed the TDI variants from its Arteon range due to “low customer interest”.
Speaking to CARmag.co.za, the local arm of the Wolfsburg-based firm confirmed its decision to discontinue the turbodiesel derivatives, leaving just a single TSI variant in the line-up.
“The Arteon TDI derivative has been discontinued owing to low customer interest in South Africa,” VW SA told us.
Launched locally in May 2018, the Arteon range had initially comprised three variants, including the now-discontinued 2,0 TDI Elegance and 2,0 TDI R-Line models. Both employed a 2,0-litre, four-cylinder oil-burning mill offering 130 kW and 350 N.m to the front axle via a six-speed dual-clutch transmission.
At the time of writing, these TDI variants still appeared on VW SA’s configurator – with the Elegance priced at R630 200 and the R-Line at R682 500 – with the firm saying it still had a few units in stock.
Once that stock runs dry, only the Arteon 2,0 TSI 4Motion R-Line – which offers 206 kW and 350 N.m from its 2,0-litre turbopetrol heart, sent to all four corners via a seven-speed DSG – will remain. Pricing for this flagship is now R735 000.
In February 2019, VW SA confirmed the facelifted Passat would not be coming to local shores, suggesting to CARmag.co.za the sleekly styled Arteon fastback would fill the void (in a segment admittedly experiencing a slowdown in sales).
