Car news, 22 Feb ’24 Subaru slashes Solterra prices, updated VW Touareg detailed, and more

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Thanks for joining us this Thursday February 22nd 2024. Notably in car news today: more details on Volkswagen’s Touareg facelift, and the brand’s Scirocco could be reborn as an EV sports car. Plus, a late lopping of considerable cash from the price of the Subaru Solterra.

Browse this issue:

• Subaru drastically reduces Solterra pricing just prior to Australian launch
• 2024 Volkswagen Touareg to be more competitive on price
• Volkswagen Scirocco could be reborn as an EV sports car
• Mazda BT-50 axed in NZ due to low sales and emissions
• Reviewed: 2024 BMW i4 eDrive35

Subaru Solterra price drops by $8000 before launch 

• In a dramatic moment days before the launch of the car, Subaru Australia has drastically dropped the price of its upcoming Solterra electric midsize SUV.
  
• Pricing now starts at $69,990 before on-road costs for the new Solterra AWD – $8000 cheaper than before, while the up-spec Touring grade has dropped by $6700 to $76,990 before on-roads.

• Subaru says the adjusted pricing will apply to all existing pre-orders for the car – so existing buyers won’t be expected to fork out the original price when they take delivery.
  
• The price change brings the Solterra closer into line with key rivals like the Tesla Model Y – while all eyes are on Toyota for how it prices its twin to the Solterra, the BZ4X. An announcement will be made by Toyota next week.

• As part of the purchase with the Solterra, five years of servicing and roadside assistance plus a home GPO charging cable are included.

2024 Volkswagen Touareg to become more affordable in Australia

• Volkswagen Australia has confirmed that it will “price-reposition” it’s Touareg large SUV in 2024, making the model more affordable than the pricing of the outgoing SUV.

• The news comes after Volkswagen’s local arm cut pricing by $12,000 for the outgoing Touareg range in order to shift stock of the pre-facelift model in Australia.

• Paul Pottinger, Volkswagen Group general manager of corporate communications: “we openly admit that we could be more competitive with a broader number of cars.”

• Pricing currently starts from $89,240 before on-road costs, and is as much as $117,540 before on-road costs for the 210TDI R-Line without factoring in the $12K factory bonus.

• Volkswagen is hopeful to sell more Touaregs than before. In 2023, it sold 921 examples, but in 2015 sold in much greater numbers, with 2568 units shifted.

• The brand will launch the much-anticipated Touareg R plug-in hybrid flagship in 2024 with outputs of 340kW/700Nm at a price of $129,990 before on-road costs.

Volkswagen Scirocco could be reinvented as an EV sports car: report

• The Volkswagen Group could revive the Scirocco name and turn it into an electric sports car, according to fresh reports by Autocar.

• The UK outlet states that along with a future Audi TT and also the upcoming electric Porsche Boxster and Cayman, Volkswagen could build its next sports car on the upcoming PPE platform.

• The PPE platform is set to also underpin the recently-revealed Porsche Macan EV and the Audi Q6 E-Tron

• Based on the same platform as the popular Golf, the Scirocco nameplate first entered production in 1974, and was reinvigorated for a third generation in 2008. 

• Expect to hear more about the future Scirocco in the next year or two 

Mazda BT-50 axed in New Zealand due to low sales amid emissions scheme penalties

• Mazda New Zealand has announced it will pull its BT-50 pickup from market in 2024 and has called it “the end of an era” for the model

• Mazda told NZ outlet Stuff that “the market has changed significantly over the past few years: the move towards SUVs, a greater uptake of electrified vehicles, and most recently the Clean Car Program have all influenced consumer tastes”. 

• Just 347 units were registered in New Zealand during 2023, which was significantly less than the BT-50’s biggest competitors, the Toyota Hilux and the Ford Ranger, along with the Volkswagen Amarok and Nissan Navara.

• Up until December 2023, the New Zealand Government has had a clean car discount scheme that made EVs and hybrids cheaper while effectively making higher-emission cars more expensive. The recently-elected National government repealed the arrangement.

• Australia is set to introduce a fuel efficiency standard of its own during 2024, and is likely to have similar systems to the NZ, Europe and North America 

2024 BMW i4 eDrive35 reviewed

• Chasing Cars contributor Dylan Campbell’s written review of the 2024 BMW i4 eDrive35 Variant was published.
  
• Campbell praised the entry-level i4, which provides customers with typical BMW rear-wheel drive dynamics at a price that qualifies for key federal government EV incentives.

• The i4 eDrive35 variant has been positioned to qualify for a full fringe benefit tax (FBT) waiver for leasing customers because it is priced beneath the crucial luxury car tax (LCT) threshold for 2024.
  
• Campbell noted that the finishes of the entry-level i4 are not uniformly luxurious, and nor is the rear seat spacious, but noted that the driving dynamics are polished and fun, harking back to BMW’s traditional RWD layout.
  

READ: BMW i4 eDrive35 2024 review

The next issue of Car News Today will be published on Friday 23rd February at 4.30pm Sydney time.