Volkswagen is looking at plugging the gap left by the retiring Touareg with an electric equivalent so the brand can continue to offer a flagship to higher-end customers, sales boss Martin Sander has confirmed.

 

The current combustion-engined SUV will bow out in just a few months after 24 years on sale as the firm focuses on higher-volume and lower-cost models.

 

However, Sander said there remains a gap in the market for upmarket cars that don't carry a premium badge – which the Touareg and Phaeton saloon (discontinued in 2016) were designed to serve.