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      11-20-2020, 06:18 PM   #1
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VW Kills the Passat for the US and Possibly the EU Market

While the current generation have been overall pretty unimpressive, its a bit sad to see a car like the Passat with such a long-running nameplate killed, of course yet again, in favor of SUV's.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Motor1
Well, another sedan is saying goodbye at the expense of crossovers and SUVs. Today, it’s the Volkswagen Passat that’s leaving us. The German automaker will cease the model’s production at its Tennessee plant in 2023, no longer offering it in the US, according to Wards Auto. Instead, the company will shift the factory over to producing the all-electric ID.4 along with the Atlas and Atlas cross.

Sales for the Passat in 2018 were a third of what they were in 2012, according to CarSalesBase.com. Last year was no better, with the company selling just 14,123 Passats. VW gave the car a thorough refresh for the 2020 model year, which appears to have helped sales, though it’s not enough to save the model from being discontinued. The sedan just can’t compete in the US, where consumers are “firmly in favor of SUV models,” VW CEO Ralf Brandstätter told the publication.

The Passat’s demise in the US isn’t that surprising. VW of America hinted at the Passat leaving at the end of its life cycle, which is what’s happening. Development of the next-gen Passat sounds well underway, with the new car riding on an updated MQB platform around the world. It’ll be larger than the outgoing model with a longer wheelbase offering more legroom that Americans won’t get to enjoy. Production for the next-gen Passat will move from Germany to Slovakia, according to Automotive News Europe.

The Passat’s departure comes with up to $800 million in investment to expand its Tennessee plant as it prepares to produce its fully electric crossover. The Passat leaving the US market is just another sedan we’re saying goodbye to as the list of cars continues to dwindle. The Passat got its name in the US in 1990, two generations after the model arrived here. In 2012, VW began differentiating the US-market Passat from the European one.
VW Passat Dead After 2023 In The US



Update 11/27: Report Claims Passat and Arteon are Killed in Europe as well, but wagon will survive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Motor1
Volkswagen had planned to move production of the European-spec Passat from Emden, Germany to a new VW Group plant in Turkey for the midsize model’s next generation. The conflicts in Syria forced the automotive conglomerate to change its plans, ultimately deciding to shift production to Bratislava following a €1 billion investment in the plant.

The switch will happen in 2023 when production of the Passat’s sister model, the Skoda Superb, will be relocated from the Czech plant in Kvasiny. However, a new report from Automotive News Europe claims VW has decided to discontinue the Passat sedan in Europe, following a similar decision taken for the US-spec model built in Chattanooga. The Passat (NMS) is technologically inferior to the MQB-based European model, and much like its cousin from the Old Continent, it’s expected to bow out in 2023.

The silver lining? The Passat won’t be axed altogether in Europe as ANE reports the wagon (Variant) will live to see another generation. The thinking is VAG wants to reduce the risk of cannibalization as the Skoda Superb is known to eat into the Passat sedan’s sales due to its greater practicality thanks to a larger footprint and a hatchback layout. It also used to be cheaper, but the gap between the two has been reduced in recent years.

The report goes on to mention the next-generation Superb will target customers from countries in central and eastern Europe where sedans are still popular while the long-roof Passat will lure in buyers from western Europe. It goes without saying the Passat’s biggest enemy is not its Czech counterpart, but the proliferation of SUVs.

Company sources familiar with the VW Group’s agenda told ANE the company will shift even more focus to SUVs and its ever-growing EV lineup. Another victim will be the Passat’s sleeker derivative – the Arteon. Both the standard liftback and the Shooting Brake (it’s actually a wagon) won’t live to see another generation.

To end on a positive note, VW previously confirmed plans to start production of a new four-door Aero electric vehicle at the Emden factory from 2023. It’s widely believed to take the shape of a wagon, molded after the 2019 ID Space Vizzion concept.

Company sources familiar with the VW Group’s agenda told ANE the company will shift even more focus to SUVs and its ever-growing EV lineup. Another victim will be the Passat’s sleeker derivative – the Arteon. Both the standard liftback and the Shooting Brake (it’s actually a wagon) won’t live to see another generation.

To end on a positive note for the anti-SUV crowd, VW previously confirmed plans to start production of a new four-door Aero electric vehicle at the Emden factory from 2023. It’s widely believed to take the shape of a wagon, molded after the 2019 ID Space Vizzion concept.
Volkswagen Is Killing The Passat Sedan In Europe, Too: Report
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Last edited by stein_325i; 11-27-2020 at 03:52 PM.. Reason: New Updates
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