Volkswagen to bring new models to Australia earlier

VOLKSWAGEN Group Australia (VGA) says a concerted effort to streamline processes with its headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, combined with enhanced digitalisation, should shorten lead times between European and local market launches of its new models.

Improvements have started with the arrival of the three-row Tayron SUV reached Australian showrooms less than 12 months after its international reveal, and only five months after the model arrived in German showrooms.

That is considerably faster than the historical lag that saw Australian VW launches occur about 12 months after initial European deliveries with some outliers, such as the ID.4 and ID.5 battery EVs (BEVs) delayed several years, for various regulatory and practical reasons.

However, the Tayron’s haste is, in part, a red herring as significant sharing of components with the Mk III Tiguan midsize SUV, launched in Australia in recent months, helped local product teams cut through some of the red tape.

“There was a lot of work for the Tiguan that we could transfer into the Tayron, and we leveraged that, but we have been pushing a lot during the last seven or eight months [to make things] faster,” Volkswagen Australia brand director Piergiorgio Minto told GoAuto.

Still, while Tayron was something of a special case, general improvements have been made to the communications process by which Volkswagen’s German headquarters is informed of adaptations required for the Australian versions of new VW models.

“We have a more robust communication process, directly, for when the technical department asks what the Australian market requires [from] homologation, Australian standards, ANCAP (safety),” said Volkswagen Australia head of product Arjun Nidigallu.

Mr Minto said the relationship with Germany has been evolving over several years.

“It has been improving for a number of years, and it is now at a stage where we think it is being effective,” he said.

However, local Volkswagen executives said the level of adaptation for Australia is not being reduced, merely that the barriers to achieving local alterations have eased, paving the way for reduced lead times for new models to land.

“Volkswagen sometimes does a bit more work than other manufacturers. It is what is distinctive for us as a brand,” said Mr Minto.

“Whenever we bring products to Australia we adapt them.”

Insiders believe the real shift has come from more consistent engagement with headquarters.

With the relative ‘ease’ of the Tayron adaptation program out of the way, the next test will be the Australian launch fo the second-generation T-Roc.

The small SUV was revealed in Germany last week and is due for release there late in 2025 with export market introductions pencilled from mid-2026.

Mr Nidigallu cautioned about expecting a rapid Australian launch but suggested a modest acceleration compared to historic norms might be on the table.

“It is an all-new generation (of T-Roc), so the homologation process is fresh,” added Mr Nidigallu.

“That usually takes more time. That being said, we have also improved a few processes and streamlined things, so it is possible that we will get it sooner than usual.”

According to Mr Minto, digitalisation will help shorten steps that once took longer.

“Digitalisation is helping. Some processes that are going digital, in the past they needed to be 100 percent physical,” he said.