HANNOVER (dpa-AFX) - VW's Up small car is just as affected as the T6.1 van and Porsche's Macan, Cayman and Boxster combustion engines: due to stricter EU regulations for cyber security in cars, which will apply from July, they will disappear from the market, in some cases without a direct successor. Most of them can already no longer be ordered.

"All Up models for the German market have already been produced and delivered to dealers," explains a VW spokesperson. In other EU countries, however, deliveries of the last vehicles will continue until the middle of the year. Then it will be over there too. Production of the popular small car has been discontinued since November. VW Commercial Vehicles in Hanover also states: "The T6.1 can no longer be ordered." Production is still running there. But all vehicles that can be built by the end of June have long since found a buyer, says a spokeswoman. "We are completely sold out."

Grace period only for motorhomes

The reason for the hard cut: in order to avoid the new cybersecurity rules that apply from July 7, the cars must not only be produced and delivered by the deadline, but also registered. This leaves me no room for maneuver, according to Hanover. Only the T6.1 California camper van version still has last-minute ordering options. This is because the new rules for motorhomes will not come into effect until September 1.

The fact that older models such as the Up, which has been built since 2011, or the T6.1, which is still based on the T5 from 2003, are particularly affected is due to the great effort that manufacturers would have to make to get the vehicles ready for the new regulations. "Otherwise we would have to integrate a completely new electronics architecture," says VW brand boss Thomas Schäfer. "That would simply be too expensive." The decision was therefore made to discontinue the popular Up small car without a direct successor. "Unfortunately", Schäfer adds. Because the entry-level model is still in demand.

Retrofitting would cost millions

In fact, the effort that manufacturers would have to put in is enormous, says Stefan Bratzel from the Center of Automotive Management (CAM) in Bergisch Gladbach. The costs per vehicle would run into the millions. The stricter rules have already applied to newly developed models since mid-2022; there was a two-year grace period for older models, which is now coming to an end. After that, manufacturers must prove that a certified management system to prevent hacking attacks was already in place during the development of the vehicles, not only at the manufacturer itself, but also at suppliers. According to the automotive expert, this is difficult to do retrospectively, especially with very old models. Manufacturers would therefore prefer to save themselves this effort.

With a heavy heart, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (VWN) is saying goodbye to the T6.1, which was the brand's best-selling model until recently. "We could certainly have continued to sell the car for another ten years," says brand boss Carsten Intra. But with the new EU regulations, this is not feasible. Unlike the Up, there will at least be a successor here, but not seamlessly and no longer from Hanover: the new van, which VWN has developed together with Ford and is also having built there, will not be unveiled until September.

Porsche only builds combustion-powered Macan for export

At Porsche, the order books for the combustion engine versions of the Macan, Boxster and Cayman are also closed. However, the models will continue to be produced in Leipzig and Osnabrück - but only for export. In Germany, the Macan will only be available in the new all-electric generation, which has just been unveiled. Porsche had to abandon the plan to offer both in parallel for a while in Germany after the launch of the electric Macan was delayed for two years due to software problems. All-electric successors to the Boxster and Cayman are due to be launched in 2025.

Other manufacturers are also phasing out old models shortly before the deadline: Audi discontinued the TT sports coupé at the end of 2023 and closed the order books for the R8 sports car. Mercedes-Benz is discontinuing production of the old two-seater Smart EQ Fortwo at the end of March, which had previously remained in the range alongside its successor, the Smart #1. Renault bids farewell to the Zoe, a veteran electric car. However, all three assure us that this has nothing to do with the new cybersecurity regulations. The models have simply reached the end of their life cycle. However, an Audi spokesperson adds that the last R8 will be delivered in mid-June so that it can be registered before the deadline in July. So the model would not have had a future anyway./fjo/DP/zb