Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace seven-seater to be replaced by larger Tayron – report

Next year’s replacement for the Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace family SUV – the stretched, seven-seat version of the standard five-seat model – will be a standalone model with a roomier cabin, according to a new report.

The next generation of the five-seat Tiguan is due to be unveiled in the second half of this year, but plans for a new seven-seat Allspace version have yet to surface, and no prototypes have been spied.

Now Volkswagen sources have reportedly told Autocar India the current Tiguan Allspace will be replaced next year by a new generation of the Tayron, a twin to the Tiguan sold exclusively in China.

While the current Tayron is built in China with five seats and left-hand drive only, Autocar India reports the new model due next year is planned to be a “global model” built in Germany for export to left- and right-hand-drive markets, with seven seats.

The new Tayron is reported to undergo a growth spurt to accommodate the third row of seats – beyond the 4.6-metre length of the current model – and is planned to have “completely unique styling” compared to the new five-seat Tiguan.

The Indian publication reports production is due to begin next year, and the new model will share much in common with the next-generation Skoda Kodiaq seven-seater, which is due for unveiling in the second half of this year.

Australian arrival timing is yet to be confirmed, though first local showroom arrivals typically follow nine to 18 months behind arrivals in Europe.

MORE: New Skoda Kodiaq, Superb due to be unveiled this year

Reports suggesting a new Tayron would replace the Tiguan Allspace first emerged from industry journal Automotive News Europe in 2018, citing an internal document sent to VW employees detailing the company’s future factory investment plans.

"The main plant was awarded production of a large, seven-seat SUV that will run off Assembly Line 2. The model will orient itself on the Tayron currently produced in China," Automotive News Europe reported at the time.

The current Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace is produced in Mexico for Europe and Australia – compared to Germany for the five-seat version. Today’s Tayron is produced exclusively in China for the local market.

Previous Volkswagen CEO Ralf Brandstatter confirmed in 2021 there would be new generations of the Tiguan and Tayron, but it was not clear at the time if the Tiguan announcement would extend to a new Allspace.

It was announced at the time these models would offer the option of plug-in hybrid power with up to 100 kilometres of claimed electric driving range.

The future of the more luxurious but five-seat-only Touareg beyond the current generation is unclear. It is due for a facelift in Australia next year, which would push the arrival of a new-generation model – which would go electric – out to 2027 or 2028.

Prior to the pandemic – in the seven-seater’s first full year of sales – the standard-size, five-seat Tiguan outsold the Allspace by 66 per cent (7747 to 4665 vehicles).

However, the German-built Tiguan has been hit harder by production slowdowns and component shortages than its stretched Mexican-made sibling.

The Tiguan Allspace outsold the standard model by 45 per cent (3876 to 2658 vehicles) last year – but over the first three months of 2023 the tables have turned, with 1482 standard Tiguan sales to 1190 Allspaces.