Volkswagen Australia has said introducing the new Tayron name to its local lineup comes with a certain amount of risk, after its predecessor was able to leverage the popular Tiguan name.
The Tayron is the replacement for the 2018-2024 Tiguan Allspace, the second most popular SUV in the brand’s Australian lineup year-to-date behind the T-Cross small SUV, which is second only to the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux rivalling Amarok dual-cab ute.
Order books have opened for 2026 Tayron in Australia, which follows the Allspace formula of offering up to seven seats in what’s essentially a long-wheelbase version of the new second-generation Tiguan, which arrived in local showrooms earlier this year.
The Tayron name has been used in China since 2018, but this is the first time it’s been used in markets like Australia and Europe.
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“Tiguan is quite a powerful name in the market,” said Piergiorgio Minto, Volkswagen Australia passenger vehicle director, when questioned by CarExpert on the new approach.
“It is a risk, but at the same time an opportunity in my opinion.”
“It is a risk because you don’t have any [name recognition] in the market, [it’s] something new, so you need to communicate that – you need to present it. You need to bring it to the people, and quickly as well, so you need a little bit of work behind that.”
“On the other hand, I believe that the car is really a new identity, it’s different – the design is not the [same as] Allspace or the Tiguan; previously you just matched from the [Volkswagen] website to see one was much longer.
Above: Tiguan Allspace
“[Now, with Tayron] The arches are different, they’re a different design – so you have a lot of features that are quite different from one to another, so you can really see that it is a car for itself.”
Most of the Tayron’s key rivals use the same name for both five- and seven-seat models, such as the Honda CR-V, Nissan X-Trail and Mitsubishi Outlander.
But having a more distinctive name – and look – also presents an opportunity for greater success, says Volkswagen Australia’s head of product, Arjun Nidigallu.
“A lot of times [customers would] come in for a Tiguan, and they didn’t even realise there is an Allspace at the dealership, and they’d say, ‘oh right, I didn’t know you had a seven-seater’”.
The lack of awareness is something marketers talk about as the ‘top of the funnel’ – a description for customers in the very early phases of shopping for a new vehicle.
With customers not even realizing the Allspace was in showrooms, they would be lost to Volkswagen’s rivals, said Mr Nidigallu.
“If you have a unique name from the outset, the early part of the funnel where customers are aware there is a seven-seater, I think will help with the situation.”
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