Volkswagen Reportedly Allows Passat to Live

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

When we last checked in on the Volkswagen Passat, the manufacturer was rumored to be considering removing the model from its production lineup. Jetta’s bigger brother failed to garner much attention after its last update, and it just so happens to exist within a vehicle segment that has has seen far better days. Combine that with VW heaping added importance on a lineup of fresh new EVs, and there was good reason to think the family sedan was living on borrowed time.

Despite some company brass eager to kill off the model, it has been decided that the Passat will stick with us a while longer. Autocar recently reported the car has been approved for another generation, expecting it to launch in Europe in 2023.

VW Group CEO Herbert Diess is reportedly unconvinced that the Passat has a place in future lineups, however. He noted that sales of the similarly sized Arteon seemed to be coming up in Europe prior to the pandemic, and that the company already planned to manufacture the electric ID Vizzion in both sedan and wagon formats.

Yet the industry has been fairly cautious not to totally eliminate traditional body styles. After all, there’s always a chance their ranks could rebound if the market begins skewing back toward more traditional shapes. Crossover saturation seems to have reached its zenith and European sedan owners have proven themselves fiercely loyal (though still fickle in comparison to U.S. pickup loyalists). That’s probably why the North American market has been saddled with the old “New Midsize Sedan” (NMS) version of the Passat, while European customers receive the fancier MQB-based B8.

The NMS is also all about maximizing volume and lowering the MSRP — which we’re shocked to learn doesn’t go over as well in Europe.

Unlike the current namesake twins, the 9th generation Passat is said to be a singular, global model running on an updated version of the MQB architecture that will be able to support both front and all-wheel drive. Mild and plug-in hybridization are said to both be on the table, along with a legit BEV running entirely on electric power. We imagine there will probably be a standard gas-burner, as well, likely incorporating forced induction to make up for a petite, emissions-friendly powertrain.

From Autocar:

Set for UK launch in 2023, the new Passat will share its platform, drivetrains and electrical architecture with the Skoda Superb – alongside which right-hand-drive versions will be produced in a new greenfield factory to be established by Skoda as part of a major expansion of its production capacity.

The move will bring an end to the production of the Passat at Volkswagen’s Emden factory in Germany after more than 36 years, according to Volkswagen sources, who say the plant will be soon begin a comprehensive reconstruction for the electric-powered ID 4 SUV, which is scheduled to be produced there from 2022.

Volkswagen staffers speaking to the outlet claimed the B9 Passat has already been styled and will take on a more versatile guise. That presumably means improving interior volume to better cater to the American and Chinese markets. An Alltrack model has also been suggested, with an elevated ride height and the obligatory plastic cladding. We’ve no clue if any of the wagon (estate) variants will come to America; the automotive media certainly seems increasingly sprung on wagons, but it’s doubtful whether the general public is ready to revisit them. For now, the Subaru Outback seems the only wagon with mass appeal — and your author would argue it has basically been a crossover since 2010.

Still, North American preferences hardly matter, as it wasn’t the United States or Canada that influenced the company’s final decision to build a 9th-gen Passat. Autocar claims Volkswagen’s Chinese operations decided the vehicle’s fate, with that market apparently able to muster enough volume to make production worthwhile.

[Images: Volkswagen Group]

Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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  • Sceptic Sceptic on Aug 26, 2020

    The way I read this article it seems that Passat production is leaving Germany and moving to Skoda’s factory in Czech Rep. we could see limited imports of the new Passat to the US positioned as semi premium offering just below the Arteon. That would be a good thing. Chattanooga will not make sense if the demand for VW SUVs continues as it is.

  • Sayeh Sayeh on Feb 22, 2021

    VW of America is stuffed full of terrible businesspeople who lack any understanding of the market, the kind that once nearly sank the Detroit Three. The answer to the mystery of the failing Passat is so obvious: The American-market Passat is not the normal Int'l one whose interior is a facsimile of the Arteon's and takes inspiration from Audi. Our Passat is an unappealing dinosaur w/ 2000s era styling. So they neutered the Passat in the American market and are wondering why it's doing so poorly? It's the same stupid logic that killed Chevy and Ford sedans. "Making sexy sedans is too hard, so let's make ugly crossovers and call them "SUVs"." If they do get rid of the Passat, they should be forced to lower the cost of the Arteon to match the Passat in Europe.

  • MaintenanceCosts It's not a Benz or a Jag / it's a 5-0 with a rag /And I don't wanna brag / but I could never be stag
  • 3-On-The-Tree Son has a 2016 Mustang GT 5.0 and I have a 2009 C6 Corvette LS3 6spd. And on paper they are pretty close.
  • 3-On-The-Tree Same as the Land Cruiser, emissions. I have a 1985 FJ60 Land Cruiser and it’s a beast off-roading.
  • CanadaCraig I would like for this anniversary special to be a bare-bones Plain-Jane model offered in Dynasty Green and Vintage Burgundy.
  • ToolGuy Ford is good at drifting all right... 😉
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