It will come as no surprise, but another manufacturer is cutting back on production as a result of declining demand due to the melt-down in banking and world financial markets. Volkswagen has joined the growing list of manufacturers feeling the strain with a recent announcement that Touareg, Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne production would all be cut back.

Each model will see a ten percent cut in production for the remainder of the year. The reduced output will mean that the 8500 workers currently employed at the Slovakian plant, in the city of Bratislava, will be forced to work shorter shifts. In addition, the plant will close a full week earlier at Christmas this year as production targets are reduced.

As consumers continue to downsize (or close their wallets entirely), SUVs, and large cars in general, will continue to suffer in the showroom as buyers weigh up the financial outlay and hefty running costs of these vehicles.

That may spell the beginning of the end of the SUV penny section. While we feel that four-wheel drive vehicles have a place in the automotive environment, the loss of a few Toorak-tractors on our roads won’t have too many of us losing sleep.