Volkswagen has unveiled a facelifted version of the VW Tiguan at the Guangzhou Auto Show in China. Is this also the 2010 facelift for the rest of the world?Volkswagen does big business in China, and has done for longer than probably any other Western car maker. We recently reported that VW has sold 5 million cars in China over the last 25 years, and that rate of sales is climbing rapidly. So it’s no real surprise that VW has revealed a facelifted Tiguan at this week’s Guangzhou Auto Show in China.
We’ve got used to car makers taking us by surprise with facelifted cars turning up practically unannounced at their domestic motor shows and in key markets. Mazda recently unveiled a facelifted Mazda2 in Thailand which was a bit of a surprise, and Japanese car makers often release a facelift in Japan before rolling it out around the world.
But we can’t remember a major Western car maker releasing a facelift unannounced away from their major Western markets before, which is probably an indication of just how important China is becoming. In truth, we don’t actually know if this facelift to the VW Tiguan presages a worldwide facelift for the small SUV, but it seems highly likely. The Tiguan seems to have taken on the latest VW family theme, with its likeness to the Golf and Scirocco, but the press release from China is woefully short on detail.
We’ll just have to wait and see what VW has in store for the Tiguan for 2010 in the UK and Europe. But we’re guessing the Chinese release is pretty close to what we can expect.