Volkswagen CC Dead, to Be Replaced by Something People Might Want

The slow-selling Volkswagen CC premium sedan — a model you’d be forgiven for forgetting — has reportedly ended production in Germany.

In happier times, the model added a dash of upscale panache to the squeaky-clean brand. Now, Volkswagen has cast off the aging, underperforming model as it seeks to reclaim lost market share and revenue with the CC’s shadowy replacement.

Sources tell Britain’s Autocar that assembly of new CCs has ceased as the automaker preps an all-new entry to slot above the midsize Passat. Don’t worry about supply drying up overnight, however. Given the model’s slow sales, there’s likely enough inventory to hold the company over until the replacement shows up next year.

Not that buyers are flooding dealer lots in search of the coupe-like CC. After reaching a sales high in 2011 with 29,502 U.S. sales, demand for the model slipped to just 6,276 units in 2015. The first 10 months of 2016 saw only 2,595 sales.

Launched in 2008, the model bowed as the Passat CC before dropping its sister car’s name during its 2011 redesign. The CC name isn’t likely to appear on the model’s replacement. The same sources claim Volkswagen wants to drop the name like a hot potato, preferring something new and distinctive that takes buyers’ minds off the past (especially the recent past).

There’s a number of spy photos floating around that claim to show the CC’s replacement. If those photos are indeed of the unnamed successor, expect a lengthy sedan with a fastback-like profile. The automaker has reportedly selected its Sport Coupe GTE concept car as inspiration, which could signal a high-performing hybrid variant.

[Image: Volkswagen of America]