Volkswagen Passat Sales Up 25,000 Percent During VW's Best Year Since 1973
Volkswagen is on track to have their best year in America since 1973 – and all it took was a revamped product lineup that got largely negative reviews from the automotive press.
Sales for the first half of 2012 are up 35 percent versus the same time-frame in 2011. June sales were up 34 percent versus 12 months ago. Sales of the Passat are at an all-time high, with the TDI accounting for 21 percent of the mix. Dealers apparently can’t get enough TDIs to fill demand, and VW is hoping to bring more of the engines from their plant in Poland to the Chattanooga, Tennessee factory. Year to date, sales of the Passat are up nearly 25,000% according to independent analyst Timothy Cain. Sales of the Jetta are also strong, capturing the 14th best-selling car spot in America so far, ahead of the Kia Optima and Chrysler 200. So much for being one of the biggest flops of 2011.
More by Derek Kreindler
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I've been waiting for VW to regain their lost formula. You know, don't try to be the most technical car company, just build a solid product- or two- and get a little better every year. Back in '73, they sold all the cars they could make. And those cars were no technical marvels, quite the opposite.
I know this is about the Passat, which I haven't sat in or drove, but I guess I don't get the complaints about the Jetta. The material quality went down but so did the price. I just recently picked up a GTI and while at the dealer I nosed around in a Jetta with the 5cyl. The seats were good. The interior had a clean, almost sophisticated look. The materials are a step down but still on par with or better than others in this price range. The exterior is bland but the detail in the tail lights almost makes up for it. I could see hating on VW for taking the Jetta downmarket but the car itself seemed like a pretty good value for the money.
In other VW articles, lot of owners come out of the woodwork in the comments complaining about their miserable experiences with VW quality and claiming that they'll never buy another one. I remember one writer/commenter asking if VW would have a lost generation of buyers who swore off them like the American car makers seem to have from the 80's. Doesn't seem to be causing an issue here though. For VW's sake, better hope the cars are working well.
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