Security New EU rules make popular cars disappear

Related Vendor

Wuxi InfiMotion Technology Co., Ltd.

Volkswagen, Porsche and other German car manufacturers must take various vehicle models off the market or may only export them abroad, reports dpa.

The Volkswagen Up small car, the T6.1 transporter, and the Porsche petrol models Macan, Cayman, and Boxster are all affected by new, stricter EU rules for car cyber security that are due to take effect from July 7 this year. Therefore, these models will disappear from the market - in some cases without a direct successor. Most can no longer be ordered. For the German market, all Up cars have already been produced and delivered to the trade, according to VW. In other EU countries, however, delivery of the last vehicles is continuing until the middle of the year. After that, however, the VW Up will also no longer be available there. The popular small car has not been produced since November, it was further noted. VW Commercial Vehicles from Hanover also said that the T6.1 is no longer orderable. Although production there is still ongoing, all vehicles that can be built by the end of June are long gone.

Cybersecurity rules leave car manufacturers with no choice.

From the date of application, manufacturers must prove that there was a certified management system to ward off hacking attacks even during the development of the vehicles, and not only at the manufacturer's own facilities but also at suppliers. However, this is difficult to do retrospectively for very old models, says one car expert. Manufacturers prefer to save themselves this effort. In order to avoid the new EU rules, the cars must not only be produced and delivered by the deadline, but also registered. As a result, car manufacturers would have no leeway. There are only last order options left for the T6.1 California camper version. In the case of motorhomes, the new rules will only apply from 1 September. The fact that it is mainly older models like the Up, which has been built since 2011, or the T6.1, which is still based on the 2003 T5, that are affected is due to the high effort that manufacturers would have to make to make the cars fit for the new regulations, we have learned. The OEMs would otherwise have to integrate a completely new electronic architecture, which would simply be too expensive - it would amount to millions in extra effort per vehicle type. That's why Volkswagen has decided to discontinue the popular small car Up without a direct successor, despite the model still being one of the most popular VW vehicles.

Porsche combustion engines only for export.

Porsche has also closed the order books for the combustion engine versions of the Macan, Boxster and Cayman. However, the models are still being produced in Leipzig and Osnabrück, but are only being exported. In Germany, the Macan will only be available in the new all-electric generation, which was recently unveiled. Porsche had to abandon the plan to offer both in parallel in Germany after the launch of the electric Macan was delayed by two years due to software problems. In 2025, all-electric successors for the Boxster and Cayman are also set to launch. But other manufacturers are also discontinuing old models shortly before the deadline. At Audi, this affects the TT sports coupé and the R8 sports car. Mercedes-Benz will end production of the old two-seater Smart EQ Fortwo at the end of March. Renault is saying goodbye to the electric pioneer Zoe. However, all three car manufacturers assure that this has nothing to do with the new cybersecurity rules. The models have simply reached the end of their lifecycle. However, an Audi spokesperson adds that the last R8 will be delivered in mid-June so that it can still be registered before the July deadline. In any case, the model would not have had a future, concludes dpa.