Volkswagen slashes price of Touareg SUV

The pendulum is starting to swing in favour of shoppers as slowing demand leads some car makers to slash the prices, including a $12,000 saving on a family SUV.

2023 Volkswagen Touareg.

Car makers are starting to heavily discount new cars in a win for buyers.

Volkswagen announced it is slashing $12,000 off the price of the Touareg large SUV until March 31 with immediate delivery. An updated version of the Touareg is due to arrive from April.

Buyers can now get into the cheapest version of the German brand’s flagship SUV for about $86,000 drive-away.

Volkswagen is slashing $12,000 off the price of the Touareg SUV.

The base Touareg 170TDI comes with a beefy 3.0-litre turbodiesel V6 engine mated to an eight speed automatic transmission driving all four wheels.

It has luxe items such as 19-inch alloy wheels, leather appointed upholstery and plenty of safety equipment.

High end Touareg 210TDI models also benefit from the $12,000 discount.

The monster discount represents a huge turn of fortune for buyers who have been denied clearance sales and discounts for the past few years.

The brand’s flagship SUV has an upmarket cabin.

Nearly every automaker in the world has been grappling with a severe supply crunch caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and is only now starting to recover.

Head of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries Tony Weber has previously pointed out that 2023’s record sales figures for new cars was due to an improvement in supply.

This improvement in supply coupled with cost of living pressures will take some momentum out of the market leading to car makers looking to drive sales through discounts.

Lexus chief executive John Pappas said last year’s record new-car sales were “extraordinary” and wouldn’t be repeated this year. Buyers will also benefit from reduced new car wait times.

Kia Australia boss said sales are destined to return in greater numbers this year.

Discounts are expected to pick up in 2024.

He said the new car market has hovered at just more than a million for years and you need to get market share off competitors somehow because growth isn’t always organic.

Meredith also said the steep rises in new car prices in the past few years wasn’t set to continue.

“The global inflation pressures from Covid and the logistics nightmare we were going through and the costs involved has been pretty tough but I would suggest that in 2024 you won’t see the price move that has occurred in the previous three years,” he said.

Toyota is one brand still struggling with supply as most models in the range have waiting lists of many months or even years.

Originally published as Volkswagen slashes price of Touareg SUV