Having just handed back a Tiguan that I was pleased to see the back of I am no great VW fan, and I feel desperately sorry for those who had their heart set on one and can no longer order one. However, I’m going to dare to offer a few words of support to VW.
These are unprecedented times. The semiconductor chip shortage is affecting most car manufacturers but many aren’t being upfront about it. Just look at the number of people on this forum whose delivery date (for many different manufacturers) has been pushed back and back. Some dealers will still accept orders implying 3 month delivery when it’s more likely going to be 6 months plus.
VW are usually one of the most supportive manufacturers in so far as the Motability scheme is concerned, always offering a wide range of cars from across most of their model range, including top spec versions, high powered engines and 4WD. Many other manufacturers don’t. Some manufacturers don’t appear on the scheme at all and others always seem very half hearted. Just a couple of examples would be Audi and Mercedes. We were looking for an SUV on Motability recently and would have considered the Q3 or GLA but dismissed them both as those manufacturers only have the relatively low powered entry level engines on Motability that most private buyers would discount.
Fingers crossed that the VW models will return in Q4, but I fear that VW are going to end up being the first of a few manufacturers who may go down this route of removing cars from fleet customers, including Motability. In other words, it’s likely to get worse before it gets better.