Volkswagen Touran Manufacturing Ends: The Small Minivan Is Lifeless

Virtually nobody observed it, however as of April 29, 2026, it’s official: the Volkswagen Touran is useless. On that day, the mannequin’s final instance rolled off the road in Wolfsburg. It’s not an enormous shock—at slightly over 11 years outdated, the second-generation compact minivan was by far the oldest mannequin in Volkswagen’s native lineup.

Between December 2002 and December 2025, a complete of 1,070,558 Tourans have been newly registered in Germany. With 95,408 items, 2004 was the mannequin’s strongest gross sales yr. In complete, round 2.3 million Tourans have been constructed, most lately at roughly 20,000 items per yr. Final yr in Germany, greater than 14,000 Tourans have been newly registered; at its peak, it was over 52,000. Meaning VW now has no minivan left in its lineup. 

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Supply: Motor1.com

As the rationale for the manufacturing cease, Volkswagen says the Touran doesn’t adjust to the UN “Normal Security Regulation II, Stage C” that takes impact on July 6, 2026, which means it could actually not be newly registered with out an exemption.

Auto 5000 GmbH marked a particular chapter in Volkswagen historical past that’s intently tied to the Touran’s success. At the beginning of the millennium, VW confronted the problem of constructing its new compact minivan cost-effectively in Germany fairly than transferring manufacturing to lower-wage nations.

Beneath the slogan “5000 occasions 5000,” a program was created that was tailor-made particularly to producing this automobile. The primary Touran wasn’t only a new mannequin—it was the centerpiece of an industrial experiment meant to show that flatter hierarchies, team-based work, and extra versatile labor agreements may make aggressive manufacturing in Wolfsburg doable. VW’s labor chief on the time: Peter Hartz, later the namesake of the “Hartz IV” welfare reforms.

Beginning in late 2002, the Touran rolled off the road solely in Auto 5000’s halls. Staff—usually recruited from the unemployed—have been educated particularly for assembling this mannequin. As a result of the Touran was primarily based on the Golf V platform but featured considerably better inside complexity and a wider vary of configurations, Auto 5000 served as a real-world testbed for contemporary manufacturing strategies.

The minivan’s success initially validated the idea; the Touran rapidly turned a section chief. The portfolio expanded solely with the Tiguan’s 2007 launch, however the Touran remained the defining face of the “5000” initiative.

In late Could 2015, manufacturing of the second-generation Touran started in Wolfsburg. The 178.3-inch Touran II was about 5.1 inches longer and 1.2 inches wider than the earlier Touran, benefiting inside area specifically. The second row featured three particular person seats, and a 3rd row was elective.

Cargo quantity within the five-seat mannequin was 26.2 cu ft, or 29.4 cu ft with the second row totally slid ahead, and 69.9 cu ft with the rear seats folded. Within the seven-seat model, there was 4.8 cu ft of area behind the raised third row. With the third row folded into the ground, cargo capability was 22.4 cu ft. Folding the second row as properly elevated this to 65.6 cu ft.

Since 2024, the engine lineup has been restricted to the 1.5 TSI with 150 hp and the two.0 TDI with 122 hp or 150 hp. There isn’t any direct successor to the Touran; by way of measurement, the Tiguan is comparable. However seven seats are solely supplied as an choice within the considerably bigger Tayron. It’s a well-recognized sample: as with different manufacturers, SUVs are inheriting the function minivans as soon as performed. Too unhealthy, actually.