Volkswagen has halted production of the Touran: the minivan has left the market without a successor
12 May 05:54
German automaker Volkswagen has discontinued production of the Touran minivan—one of the oldest models in its lineup. The last unit of this family car rolled off the assembly line at the Wolfsburg plant in late April 2026. According to Motor1, the Touran will not have a direct successor: Volkswagen is now fully committed to crossovers and larger family models, reports "Komersant Ukrainian"
According to Motor1, production of the Touran ended because the model does not meet the new requirements of General Safety Regulation II, Stage C, which take effect in the EU on July 6, 2026. Without exceptions or significant modifications, the car would no longer be able to pass initial registration.
Why Volkswagen Discontinued the Touran
The second-generation Volkswagen Touran has been in production since 2015 and, by today’s standards, was already an aging model. The company apparently decided not to update the minivan to meet the new European safety requirements.
There are several reasons:
- the model did not meet new EU safety standards;
- demand for classic minivans in Europe has dropped significantly;
- buyers are increasingly opting for crossovers;
- the Touran had no direct successor in Volkswagen’s plans.
The new GSR2 safety regulations require modern driver-assistance systems, including intelligent speed control and automatic emergency braking, as standard equipment for new cars in Europe.
When the last Volkswagen Touran rolled off the assembly line
The last Volkswagen Touran rolled off the assembly line in Wolfsburg on April 29, 2026. This effectively brought to a close the model’s history, which spanned more than two decades.
The Touran was one of the last classic family minivans in the Volkswagen lineup. After its discontinuation, the brand’s passenger car lineup effectively had no traditional minivans of this type left.
How many Volkswagen Tourans were sold over the years
The Volkswagen Touran debuted in 2002 and quickly became a popular family car in Europe.
A total of about 2.3 million Touran vehicles were produced over the years. In Germany, more than 1.07 million of these vehicles were registered between December 2002 and December 2025.
The most successful year for the model was 2004, when over 95,000 Tourans were registered in Germany. In recent years, demand has dropped significantly: production has fallen to approximately 20,000 cars per year, and over 14,000 new Tourans were registered in Germany last year.
What was the second-generation Volkswagen Touran like?
Production of the second-generation Volkswagen Touran began in late May 2015 in Wolfsburg.
The car was 4.53 m long, making it about 13 cm longer and 3 cm wider than its predecessor. This provided more interior space, which was the model’s main advantage for families.
The second row featured three individual seats, and the third row was offered as an option. It was precisely this practicality, the large trunk, and the option for seven seats that made the Touran popular among families.
Touran trunk capacity
The Volkswagen Touran was valued precisely for its spaciousness and the versatility of its interior.
In the 5-seat version, the trunk had:
- 743 liters in the standard position;
- 834 liters with the second row pushed all the way forward;
- up to 1,980 liters with the rear seats folded down.
In the 7-seater version, there was 137 liters of cargo space behind the third row. Folding down the third row increased the volume to 633 liters, and with the second row folded down—to 1,857 liters.
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What engines remained in the Touran
In recent years, Volkswagen has significantly reduced the Touran’s engine lineup.
Starting in 2024, only a few options remained for the model:
- a 1.5 TSI gasoline engine with 150 hp;
- a 2.0 TDI diesel engine with 122 hp;
- a 2.0 TDI diesel engine with 150 hp
This once again shows that the model was gradually being prepared for the end of its life cycle.
Will there be a successor to the Volkswagen Touran?
Volkswagen is not planning a direct successor to the Touran. The Volkswagen Tiguan is somewhat similar in size, but it is a crossover, not a minivan.
Seven seats in a Volkswagen are now primarily available in the larger Tayron, as well as in commercial-passenger or electric models like the ID. Buzz. This confirms a general trend: classic minivans are giving way to SUVs and crossovers.
The Touran and the Auto 5000 Project
The history of the Volkswagen Touran is closely linked to the Auto 5000 GmbH project, created in 2001 as a compromise between Volkswagen Group management and the IG Metall union.
The idea behind the project was to keep production of the compact minivan in Germany rather than moving it to countries with lower labor costs. The name “5000 x 5000” referred to a plan to hire 5,000 workers at a salary of 5,000 German marks.
The first Touran became the centerpiece of this industrial experiment. It was intended to demonstrate that competitive production in Wolfsburg was possible thanks to flexible structures, teamwork, and new approaches to work organization.
The Auto 5000 project was shut down on January 1, 2009, and the employees were integrated into Volkswagen AG.
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