Price pain hits Volkswagen Golf, Passat, Arteon, Tiguan, T-Cross and Touareg ranges as supply, transport, and production costs put the squeeze on the German giant

Much of Volkswagen’s local passenger car range will be hit by significant price hikes starting June 1, as the brand struggles to absorb increased costs.

Prices have jumped from between $1000 to nearly $4000 across the range. Starting at the entry-point, a base Golf jumps from $32,790 before on-road costs to $34,690 (an increase of $1900), and a flagship Touareg R-Line jumping from $112,690 to $116,290 (an increase of $3600).

Other model ranges affected include the popular updated Tiguan range, as well as the Passat (now in wagon form only), Arteon sedan and shooting brake, and T-Cross small SUV.

A Volkswagen spokesperson told CarsGuide: “Unfortunately due to global increases in production, supplier and transport costs, certain models will have an increased RRP.”

“We strive to ensure that any cost increase is absorbed or – where it cannot be – kept to a minimum,” they said.

The Volkswagen spokesperson noted customers who purchase a vehicle before June 1 will not be affected. They also noted that prices for the incoming updated Polo range and T-Roc range shouldn’t see an immediate price increase as these have already been factored in.

Customers may also face wait times for some more popular models (specifically, more popular variants of the Tiguan) although these pressures should ease with the arrival of the seven-seat Allspace variants, which are sourced from a different factory (in Mexico as opposed to Germany) and said to be less affected by supply issues.

The new-generation Golf 8 has significantly moved up the price scale since its arrival.

Volkswagen’s commercial range is not affected by the price rises across the passenger car range for the time being, including the outgoing Amarok ute.

The price rises are part of a larger trend across most automakers who are facing increased raw material, shipping, and supplier costs. These look set to continue for some time, as reports out of the German auto industry suggest suppliers are bracing for supply disruption of key resources out of Russia and Ukraine. Meanwhile suppliers in China are facing another round of COVID-related lockdowns and increased raw material costs.

Volkswagen expressed to CarsGuide recently, however, the suite of deliberately increased prices for its most recently updated vehicles including the Golf, Tiguan, and Polo kept it comfortably in an ‘upper mainstream’ segment where it sees Mazda as a key rival. The next arrival for the brand will be the 2022 T-Roc small SUV, due to arrive in August. Stay tuned for pricing and specifications.

VW passenger car MSRP updates (June 2022)

Golf

Passat

T-Cross

Tiguan

Arteon

Touareg