Half the models gone by 2030
We do not comment on speculation regarding future.
VW says fifty percent. Not “some.” Not “a few.” Half. The portfolio gets slashed in half before the decade ends. Then they do it again. Seventy-five percent of what remains vanishes too. Production caps at nine million cars a year. Down from ten. The math is cold. It does not care if you like sedans. Or crossovers. Or sporty hatchbacks that sound great but cost too much to build.
The first cuts have started. “Immediate effect” was the phrase used in the press release. Urgent language. The nameplate living on borrowed time is a scary thought for enthusiasts. And owners. Who buys a Jetta expecting it to die next Tuesday?
German tabloid Bild has a list. Ten names. They might not all be final. They definitely won’t be popular with purists.
The Sedan Dies Here
The VW Jetta goes. After forty years. No successor planned. It makes sense for VW. The margins are thin. Demand is flat. Honda keeps them alive. Toyota too. VW says no thank you. The Taos crossover also gets the axe. Hardly anyone loved it. But the Jetta? That hurts. A bit.
The ID.5 likely goes too. It was always awkward. Not sleek enough to compete with Tesla. Not rugged enough to be an SUV. Just there. And now not even there.
Porsche’s Gasoline Future? Maybe Not.
Four Porsches vanish.
The Taycan EV? After one generation. No successor. The slow sales are catching up. It costs more to make than it earns in some trims. The ICE Cayenne Coupe? Dead too.
But the 718 is the real kicker.
Porsche promised a gasoline comeback. September announcement. Big strategic shift. Gas engines for the Boxster and Cayman. Bild says no. The gas-powered 71s are dead on arrival. Only the EV 71 survives. So much for the “strategic realignment” that thrilled the fan base for six months.
Is the soul of Porsche compatible with the balance sheet of VW?
Clarification coming in October. Strategy 2030 Capital Markets Day. Maybe then we get the truth. Maybe the compact gas SUV replacing the Macan arrives. Maybe the big three-row SUV shows up. For now, the rumor mill says goodbye to the boxsters.
Audi Sheds The Sportback Skin
Two crossovers lose their sleek tops. The Audi Q5 Sportback dies. The Q6 E-Tron Sportback too. They are new. Fresh. But Audi doesn’t replace them. The base Q5 and Q6 remain. The sportbacks are a niche. Too niche. The Taycan sister model, the E-Tron GT, supposedly survives. Why? Unclear.
Audi’s small cars fall. The A1 Sportback gone. The Q2 gone. Now the A1 and Q2 regulars face the list. Small cars in Europe are expensive liabilities. Emissions rules eat the profit. One Euro saved is better than three earned on a hatchback that gets fined for existing.
The Q9 SUV launches this year. An A2 supermini comes too. So the brand isn’t dying. It just prefers large SUVs to tiny zippy cars.
Skoda and Cupra Get Squeezed
The Skoda Fabia? Out. A legend. Reliable. Boring. Cheap. Exactly the mix VW hates now. Its sisters, the Polo and Ibiza, aren’t on this specific list. Yet. They might join later. The Fabia is just the first domino.
Then there is the Cupra Raval. Cancelled before it started. A new model? No chance for a second life? If true it speaks to the speed of the axe. Or the stupidity. Why build a factory if the product doesn’t exist next year?
Who Survives The Cull?
Lamborghini. Bentley. They keep their margins. Small lineups. High prices. Low volume. The holy trinity of auto profit. Lamborghini delays its first EV. Bentley gives up on being 100 percent electric by 203 five. They break the rules VW tries to enforce. Because they can.
Bugatti isn’t even part of this anymore. Sold to Rimac. Gone from the VW fold.
The savings? €6.5 billion by 2031. Seven and a half billion dollars. For ten cars. That is about sixty five million per nameplate.
Oligarch money.
Motor1 asked VW. They said nothing. Not even a nod.
The Jetta dies. The Taycan fades. The 718 keeps its electric battery and loses its gas heart.
Was the gasoline roar ever just a marketing trick?
We will see. Or we won’t.
