The Touareg’s farewell marks the close of an era and possibly the start of a new electric one
Volkswagen has confirmed that the Touareg will end production next year, bringing an end to the brand’s long-running flagship SUV in its current internal combustion form. However, the nameplate isn’t disappearing for good, as the company appears to be planning a fully electric successor.
The Touareg Final Edition won’t be a one-size-fits-all farewell. It’s a package offered across the range, with each trim wearing Final Edition lettering laser-engraved on the rear window surrounds.
The same discreet branding extends to the illuminated scuff plates, dashboard trim, and, on higher-end versions, the leather-wrapped gear lever.
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The base Touareg features heated, 18-way adjustable comfort seats, a Curved Display infotainment system, 18-inch alloy wheels, and a full suite of driver-assistance tech.
The Elegance trim adds IQ.Light LED matrix headlights, 3D taillights, multi-colored ambient lighting, brushed aluminum or fine wood cabin accents, and chrome-plated exhaust outlets.
The R-Line shifts focus toward a sportier look and seating design, while the range-topping Touareg R Hybrid gathers everything into one package, from 22-inch wheels with blue brake calipers to the most potent drivetrain configuration in the lineup.
The Final Edition will remain available for order until the end of March 2026. In Germany, prices begin at €75,025 (around $87,500) and rise to €103,005 ($120,000) for the Touareg R Hybrid, which produces a combined 456 hp (340 kW / 462 PS) and 700 Nm (516 lb-ft) of torque from its plug-in hybridsetup.
An Ambitious Project
As with the long-discontinued Phaeton luxury sedan, the Touareg was a passion project of then-chairman Ferdinand Piech. Besides broadening the appeal of the German brand into the premium SUV territory, it also shared development costs with the original Cayenne, allowing Porsche to launch its first-ever SUV.
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Volkswagen has sold more than 1.2 million Touaregs to date, including 471,000 examples of the first generation (2002–2009), 483,000 of the second (2010–2018), and 265,000 of the third (2018–2026).
The current model shares its mechanical foundations with the Audi Q7 and Q8, Porsche Cayenne, Bentley Bentayga, and Lamborghini Urus, though it never quite reached the same level of popularity as its more glamorous relatives. That gap in demand is likely one of the factors behind VW’s decision to retire it.
Volkswagen marked a few memorable moments along the way. In 2005, the Touareg Stanley prototype famously won an autonomous vehicle race through Nevada’s desert. A year later, a production model with a V10 TDI engine towed a Boeing 747, proving that brute torque was not just a marketing line.
In 2011, another V6 TDI model drove from Argentina to Alaska, covering 22,750 kilometers in just under 12 days. And between 2009 and 2011, racing versions of the Touareg conquered the Dakar Rally three times.
The Touareg Might Return
Volkswagen hasn’t confirmed a successor, but the press release explicitly referred to the “Touareg combustion engine model,” suggesting the nameplate could return as an EV.
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Recent reports suggest that an ID. Touareg could arrive around 2029, positioned as the flagship of Volkswagen’s electric SUV range and the first model to use the brand’s new SSP architecture.
That would distinguish it from Porsche’s upcoming Cayenne Electric, due in 2026 on the PPE platform. The approach also ties into Volkswagen’s strategy to revive its established combustion-era nameplates for the electric age, starting with the ID.Polo next year.
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Thanos Pappas, a product design engineer by trade, has been wading through automotive journalism for… Read full bio

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