Do you prefer the outgoing Volkswagen Tiguan to the new one? Looking for a value proposition in the growing compact crossover market? Well we have good news for you, either way, because the German automaker is reportedly keeping the outgoing version in its lineup alongside the new model.
While the new model to be built in Mexico will carry the Tiguan name, the existing version made in Germany will continue to be offered as the Tiguan Limited.
“The segment is huge,” the Tiguan’s product manager Jeff Ng told Automotive News. “There’s a broad range of price points, and we think with this new car, we can still offer the current Tiguan as Tiguan Limited for customers that are looking for different content, different size and different price.”
The naming strategy strikes us as potentially more confusing than, say, Tiguan Classic, since the Limited label is often used in the industry as a trim level. But nomenclature aside, the Tiguan Limited is slated to drop some options and configuration choices in an effort to streamline the ordering process.
AN points out that Nissan followed a similar strategy with the retention of the Rogue Select through 2015 alongside the new Rogue. But VW has a history of doing the same in some markets. In Canada, for example, it continued offering replaced versions of the Golf and Jetta with the City name attached between 2007 and 2010. It also took a similar approach in Europe, where the old Audi A4 was rebranded and kept on the market as the Seat Exeo. The multi-pronged approach is aimed at giving buyers more choices and the automaker a larger share of the market, and is evidently earmarked to do the same with the Tiguan – for the time being, at least.
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