Scirocco bides its time

But it is still not confirmed for Australia. Even with the showroom rollout beginning in Europe, Volkswagen Group Australia chief Jutta Dierks says she is waiting for the right price and position before she pushes the button on a local sales plan for the Scirocco.

The German coupe dominated its class in the gruelling Nurburgring 24-hour race in May.

“It's a serious matter and we will take the time we need,” says Dierks. “We have to get an agreement from Germany on the position of the car in the Australian market.”

Discussions on the 2.0-litre Scirocco coupe began more than six months ago and there is no news yet on a cut-off date.

The Golf-based Scirocco has been revived as Volkswagen's sports coupe and has been a sellout since it went on sale in Europe. Dierks says the car's appeal is obvious.

“It's about emotion,” she says. “It's a car that's unusual for a premium volume brand. For some people it is a dream car, for others the Scirocco makes it possible to drive a sports car.

“Cars like this bring emotion to the brand. It is outside the normal mass volume that people associate with Volksagen.

“There is nothing negative about having the same car as your neighbour, but some people want something different.”

The final decision could be some months away — but in the final wash-up, it's all about money.

“It's the price,” Dierks says. “We want it in the right position against the Golf GTi and EOS. We don't have any market in Europe where the GTi is 25 per cent of the Golf sales but it is in Australia. We need to find where to position the Scirocco.”

Despite the uncertainty and the length of negotiations, Dierks wants the Scirocco here.

“I'm keen to get the car. It is not a volume model, but there is a lot of Volkswagen history involved. It will fit in our range and there is a good story to tell. But we have a lot of good products at the moment, so we don't have to rush.”

Volkswagen held its ground in 10th place through the first half of this year's new-car sales race, but Dierks says the company is not racing to move up the rankings.

“It's not about being No.10 or 9, but growing the volume and everything else,” she says.

“Besides, the gap is still huge. And we cannot do it too fast. We need to get things set right.”

Golf is still the brand's big seller, but Volkswagen is also getting a boost from the compact Tiguan four-wheel-drive.

Dierks says the biggest sales success this year is the four-wheel-drive Touareg.

“What really makes me happy for the first six months is the Touareg,” she says. “Finally we have found our place. The target was to sell 100 a month and we are doing that. It is very good to see we are selling 140 a month.

“The winner is Golf. We continue to grow it ... and also the EOS.

“The whole range is obviously selling quite well and now we have delivered some Tiguans, but we only have 750.”

The waiting list for the Tiguan has blown out to almost 12 months. VW had the same problem when it launched Golf GTi three years ago.

Though there is no official waiting list, several dealers report delays of nine to 12 months for cars ordered now. Even those who have already ordered the car have had an extra three months added to delivery delay.

But Volkswagen spokesman Karl Gehling says the problem is not limited to Australia.

“It's simply to do with demand exceeding supply,” Gehling says. “And that's the case in every market.”

Australia has 750 Tiguans allocated to it for the first year, and Gehling says it can't source extras.

“The factory is working at capacity,” he says. “We're getting as many as we can.”

Though it may seem like a good problem to have, Volkswagen will need to be careful to avoid losing too many potential Tiguan customers to rival brands.

Nissan, hot on the heals of the Tiguan, is adding a turbodiesel to the X-Trail range that competes against the VW. But Gehling is confident Volkswagen won't be affected too badly while waiting for more cars to arrive.

“Obviously it's always a concern, but we're trying to get as many cars as we can,” he says.

Though the waiting list is long for specially ordered cars, several dealers Carsguide spoke to had a limited number of examples on the lot.