In the realm of automobiles, it's a well-known strategy that exclusivity drums up hype and converts into sales. So far, it has mostly been observed in the case of luxury labels such as Ferrari, where a few dozen units of a certain model often get enthusiasts lined up with top dollars. That's not something you would associate with a mass market label such as Volkswagen, which began its journey as a maker of "the people's car," and follows that trajectory to date. But it seems the company's apparent
supply issues with the popular Tiguan model are raising suspicions of an artificial shortage to build up the public demand around it.
@teddydautomotive Just give the people what they want @volkswagen. We need more SEL's asap lol. #carsales #autosales #vwdealership #vw #vwdealer
♬ original sound - Teddydautomotive
In a TikTok video, a Volkswagen dealership salesman expressed discontentment with the extremely tight availability of the 2025 Tiguan SEL R-Line, while highlighting its impressive feature set and attractive asking price. In the video, Teddy Delgross from the Sendell Volkswagen dealership in Greensburg mentions that "literally everyone" wants the aforementioned Tiguan model, but the German automaker is only providing them one unit in a span of three months.
"If they send us 30 of these, they'd be sold within a week," he says in the video, adding that he's convinced carmakers were intentionally "shorting" the market. Now, this is not quite the "shorting" or short-selling situation for stock trading, but just a crude way of describing an artificial shortage created around a hot product to drive its demand. The statement, however, might have more to do with market realities than a sneaky tactic by Volkswagen.
Read more: 6 Car Brands You Might Not Realize Are Owned By Volkswagen
A Tight Situation For Volkswagen
So far, Volkswagen hasn't officially offered any details regarding the tight supply of its 2025 Tiguan SUV, but the situation overall is a bit tricky. In its investor note detailing the outlook for the ongoing year, Volkswagen mentioned that growth will be slower in 2025 compared to 2024, while warning about potential shortage issues. "Crisis-related disruption to the global supply chain and the resulting impact on vehicle availability may weigh on the volume of new registrations," the company said.
The situation on the ground isn't too rosy, either. The carmaker is on the road to cutting a staggering 35,000 jobs, while an industrywide slump is also said to have "pummeled suppliers." Towards the end of 2024, Volkswagen announced that it was shutting down three factories and told a local news outlet that it was running short of half a million cars from a supply standpoint. Those are not the only woes that are going to trouble the company.
The ongoing restrictions and shortage of rare-earth magnets coming out of China are spelling serious trouble for automakers. Due to the constraints, Ford even had to cease the production of the Explorer car at its Chicago assembly plant. The situation is so dire that at least four automakers feared shutting down production of some cars within weeks. It's unclear how deeply Volkswagen is feeling the pinch, especially in the aftermath of tariffs announced under the Trump administration, and whether the Tiguan got caught in the crossfire, leading to a supply shortage at dealerships in the U.S.
Why Is This Tiguan Special?
Back in November 2024, Volkswagen announced the refreshed 2025 Tiguan, the company's highest-selling car model in the U.S. market. Built atop the new MQB evo platform, the 2025 trims introduced reworked interiors and exterior refinements such as an LED lightbar, sleeker headlights, stronger shoulder line, and wider wheelbase going up to 20 inches. Volkswagen also equipped it with a next-gen infotainment system offering more expansive display units, synchronized ambient lighting perks, standard wireless charging, automatic climate control, and a 12-speaker audio kit supplied by Harman Kardon. The asking price is set at a rather attractive $29,495 for the base front-wheel drive model, tagging alongside a destination fee worth $1,425.
As far as the SEL R-Line model discussed in the TikTok video is concerned, it costs $39,755 and comes with a bunch of exclusive conveniences such as 20-inch R-Line silver alloy wheels, custom bumpers, all-weather cornering lamp with fog lamps, backlit front grille and logo, and sound-insulated windshields. Inside the cabin, buyers will be greeted by a walnut wood dash décor, ventilated leather seats with an integrated 10-point full back massage system, mood lights, and a heated steering wheel. Interestingly, Volkswagen's update note from May 2025 mentions "delayed availability" only for the 2025 Tiguan SE and the SE R-Line Black models, and not the top-of-the-line SEL R-Line trim. In the meantime, if you're eyeing this particular model, there's a high chance the shortage is driving up the price at dealerships, as it happened during the recent chip shortage crisis. So, it's worth waiting until Volkswagen officially clears the situation.
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Read the original article on SlashGear.
