Even Volkswagen's Last Convertible Can't Escape Falling Demand

As if we needed more proof that demand for convertibles keeps slipping, Volkswagen is scaling down production of the only car it sells with a folding roof. Then again, the T-Roc Cabriolet is no ordinary open-top model. It looks like someone took an image of the regular crossover and ran it through an AI with the prompt: “make it a convertible.”

A mainstream successor to the Evoque Convertible, the T-Roc with a fabric roof is struggling. Reuters has learned from a VW spokesperson that the traditional summer holiday at the Osnabrück factory will be extended by a week. Looking ahead, there will be even more days when no vehicle rolls off the assembly line at the German site.

Production hiatuses aside, the T-Roc Cabriolet is not long for this world anyway. VW has already announced it will retire the company’s sole convertible by the middle of next year. The factory’s future is up in the air, as the company has yet to decide what comes next after production ends. It could be repurposed to serve defense companies, but an official announcement has not been made.

Meanwhile, this is the only vehicle built there by the plant’s 2,300 employees. According to the works council spokesperson, they will effectively work only four days a week because of the latest production cuts. Reuters cites a VW spokesperson saying the decision stems from the seasonality of convertibles, whose popularity peaks between spring and early summer in the Northern Hemisphere.

That’s not to say the broader VW Group is giving up on convertibles. Porsche is putting the finishing touches on the fully electric 718 and has also announced plans to restart production of the Boxster with combustion engines. Audi’s Concept C will morph into an electric sports car with a retractable targa roof in 2027. Additionally, the recently unveiled Nuvolari is all but certain to get the Spyder treatment.

Similarly, more exotic brands such as Porsche, Bentley, and Lamborghini will continue to sell high-end cabriolet models. The Temerario Spyder may have already been spotted, and it's reasonable to expect a Revuelto Roadster as well at some point. We’re excluding Bugatti from the list because the Molsheim-based marque is no longer part of the VW Group. Porsche is selling its 45 percent stake in Bugatti Rimac to a New York-based investment firm, effectively ending the VW Group era for Bugatti.