Volkswagen Tiguan R wait times slashed in Australia with hundreds more en route

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In a boon for Australian buyers stuck in the queue for a new Volkswagen Tiguan R sports SUV, its manufacturer has announced a sudden uptick in supply for the local market in 2023.

A tenfold improvement over sluggish 2022 supply has been secured after the Wolfsburg, Germany factory that builds the Tiguan R informed Volkswagen Australia it could build far more units of the vehicle in 2023 than initially expected.

The German factory will now build about 100 examples of the Tiguan R for Australian buyers every month, with a likely supply for 2023 of about 1000 vehicles in total – a tenfold improvement over 2022 deliveries, say senior Volkswagen executives.

Volkswagen Australia has warned that the situation won’t be one of ‘free supply’ for the Tiguan R – where a customer can walk into a dealership and buy a vehicle in stock – but the improved supply will slash wait times.

Special edition strategy has yielded results

The news comes as Volkswagen prepares to start customer deliveries of the new Tiguan R Grid Edition, a limited-run entry version of the 235kW AWD crossover that dodged semiconductor constraints by deleting chip-heavy features like a power tailgate and electric seats.

Introducing more pared-back versions that avoid critical supply shortages has been a strategy deployed liberally by Volkswagen Australia over the past year.

The strategy has spawned other Tiguan special editions, including the Allspace Adventure touring-spec SUV and the athletic 162TSI Monochrome variant, and has helped the Tiguan attain 1532 deliveries in the first two months of 2023, compared to the trickle of 183 registrations this time last year.

300 examples of the $63,990 Tiguan R Grid land soon, with half of the cars already spoken for before arrival – but the uptick in supply means that Volkswagen will be able to recommence customer orders of the fully-featured Tiguan R that is priced at $70,490 before on-road costs.

Tiguan R orders recommence effective immediately

Extended supply constraints on the Tiguan R forced Volkswagen Australia to halt new orders, but local dealers can now start submitting new orders for the model effective immediately.

However, the popularity of the cheaper Tiguan R Grid Edition has also informed Volkswagen Australia’s likely decision to extend that model’s run beyond an initial 300 units.

As a result, there will be two Tiguan R grades available in Australia for the foreseeable future, at approximate driveaway prices of $69,000 and $75,000 apiece.

The Tiguan R has no direct rival in the Australian market, with rival vehicles like the Mazda CX-5 topping out in 170kW 2.5-litre turbo form, while quick competitors from the luxury space, such as the Audi SQ5, cost more than $100,000.

Good year likely for T-Roc and Tiguan R, Golf R shortage continues

After a debilitating couple of years of supply shortages and lethargic customer deliveries, 2023 is shaping up to be a vintage year for Volkswagen’s R line in Australia.

This week’s sudden confirmation of a major uptick in Tiguan R supply comes just two months after Volkswagen confirmed it had secured 1800 examples of the smaller, but quicker, 221kW T-Roc R sports SUV for Australian delivery in 2023.

Like the Tiguan R, the T-Roc R is also available in a more affordable Grid Edition specification, though that 300-strong limited edition is not currently expected to be extended.

However, the pain remains for Golf R buyers. A total shortage of reversing camera components at the factory level means that a pause continues on Golf production for Australia – including for the R model, with Volkswagen Australia executives confirming this week that the factory has not provided an expected date for production to resume.