Nine new Volkswagens on their way

Volkswagen will dominate new model news in the second half of 2011 with no fewer than nine new cars due in local showrooms by the early new year.

The German marque will supersede its Golf-based Tiguan compact SUV , flagship Touareg SUV, Eos convertible and Jetta small sedan range before summer, as well as adding the recently launched Golf Cabriolet, Golf BlueMotion and previously unavailable Scirocco coupe to the fold.

Additionally, the recently revealed 2012 Beetle, dubbed "The Beetle" by company insiders, will arrive Down Under later next year.

The updates join Volkswagen's new utility Amarok, family-sized Passat and recently launched sports offerings Golf R and Polo GTI .

The brand's light commercial range was also given a touch up last year, adding to a sales success story that last month (April 2011) saw the brand achieve a ranking of number nine nationally, beating Japanese manufacturer Honda for the first time.

Speaking to the Carsales Network at the launch of the new Golf Cabriolet in Europe this week, Volkswagen Australia's general manager of press and PR, Karl Gehling, said the brand is "very pleased with [its] progress to date and is looking forward to even busier times ahead".

Golf BlueMotion, which will be launched to coincide with refreshed Eos later this month, will give the extensive Mark VI Golf range yet another model with which to lever sales. The eco-focussed hatch offers a 1.6-litre (77kW) four-cylinder turbodiesel powertrain, delivering fuel economy averages as low as 3.8L/100km and CO2 emissions of 99g/km.

Although conventionally powered (ie: not a hybrid), the model's lean burning technology, brake energy recovery system and idle stop/start will see it rival the likes of Honda Insight, Ford Fiesta ECOnetic and the ubiquitous Toyota Prius at the pump.

Revised Eos, Volkswagen's retractable hardtop convertible, scores the now familiar new family face, DRLs [daytime running lamps], a revised and wider grille, new bumpers and L-shaped rear lamps a la Golf R / Golf Cabriolet. Inside a new steering wheel and 'cool' leather finish sits below a revised dashboard, which also houses a new multi-colour display, park assist system and redesigned instrument panel.

New engine derivatives for Eos have not yet been confirmed. With the arrival of a range of Golf cabrio alternatives (petrol and diesel), it's likely the Eos variants will be trimmed to one diesel (possibly the 125kW version of the 2.0 TDI) and one petrol (our guess is the GTI’s 155kW 2.0 TSI unit) which will both be offered exclusively with a DSG automatic transmission.

Continuing along that theme, Golf-based compact SUV, Tiguan, will also receive the new frontal treatment while adding new tail lamps, and other "undisclosed" technical upgrades.

At the present time, Tiguan is available locally with a choice of (103kW) 2.0 TDI and two grades (125kW and 147kW) of the petrol powered 2.0 TSI engine. Volkswagen says the much anticipated second-generation Tiguan will be launched internationally in June alongside an as yet unnamed model. Both models will be available in Australia from late September.

The revised flagship SUV model Touareg will debut locally at the Australian International Motor Show in Melbourne this July. Again receiving a facelift, the lighter (by 200kg!) Touareg was said to be "dynamically sharper and better looking than its predecessor" when driven at the international launch in Florence, Italy early last year.

Powerplants include a mixture of petrol and diesel options in Europe, though the Australian lineup is, of course, yet to be finalised.

Touareg will be immediately followed by Volkswagen's mid-size sedan Jetta in August. The model launch internationally in July 2010.

Thoroughly revised, new Jetta offers a conservative new look, more rear legroom and, some say, much the same level of cabin equipment as the outgoing model. New Jetta will hit local roads in August.

Before the year's out, the all-new Golf Cabriolet, as launched in the south of France last week, will also be added to the fold. Featuring a quick-acting retractable soft top, extensive engine options (in Europe at least) and up-to-the-minute feature list, Golf Cabriolet's placement will see it attract younger buyers to the topless Volkswagen range, now dominated by the more premium priced Eos. Volkswagen Australia tells us to expect the car in local showrooms by late November.

The long awaited Scirocco will also debut locally, sometime in Q1 next year (2012). After an on-again, off-again decision process, the strong Aussie dollar means the car finally "makes sense" here, and will be offered in a single, albeit very athletic 'R' model guise. Scirocco will compete closely with VW's own up-spec Golf R models, the three-door variant of which will be ditched to makeway for the stylish newcomer.

Finally, and with no date set outside of an ambiguous "some time in 2012", The Beetle will arrive to prop up the niche section of the brand's catalogue left waning by the dated New Beetle, which has been on sale globally since 1997.

Launched at the Shanghai International Motor Show last month (April), The Beetle rides on a larger platform, featuring many styling cues taken from VW's 2005 'Ragster' concept. Local pricing and specifications will be confirmed towards the second half of 2012.

Full specifications and pricing of Volkswagen's new and revised lineup will be provided closer to individual model’s local launch dates. Check the Carsales Network again for more information.

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