MotorTrend.com reports that Volkswagen isn't happy with a plan proposed to it from Porsche to postpone the launch of the second-generation Touareg until late 2010.
The delay of the Touareg launch will come some six months after the launch of the next-generation Porsche Cayenne. According to a report from Automotive News Europe, the Volkswagen team is afraid this delay gives too much of a market advantage to the Cayenne. A Porsche executive told them that, if the CEOs can't come up with a solution, an agreement can't be made on the lower levels.
According to MotorTrend.com, the Touareg and Cayenne were launched simultaneously in 2002 and share the same basic platforms. Both models have also received several updates for their 2008 models.
In my observations, it looks like Porsche is trying to separate itself from its Volkswagen image and to build off its own line. And with the platforms being almost identical, Volkswagen doesn't want the Cayenne to overtake the market before it's able to launch the new Touareg.
But I don't think Volkswagen has to worry much. I see more current-generation Touaregs on the roads than I see Cayennes. Both SUVs are set to target the luxury SUV segments, and both are offered at very different price ranges.
Do you think a six-month launch separation will affect the sales of the Touareg? Would this give Porsche the advantage they are looking for?