Riding off into runaway global warming.
Volkswagen of America announced today that it will end assembly of the Passat sedan in Chattanooga with model year 2022, part of the plant’s conversion to build future electric vehicles. In a well-known marketing practice that occasionally works for a dying species, a short-run Limited Edition joins the lineup.
During the second quarter, light-trucks, crossovers and sport utility vehicles (SUVs), were 76.9% of all new vehicles sold in the US market. The segment is expected to continue to move towards an 80% market share. Pickups accounted for 17.6% of sales for the first half of 2021, down from 20.0% compared to the first half of 2020; crossovers represented 45.9% of sales, up from 41.8% one year ago.
The first versions of the Passat family sedans and wagons – remember them?- from Volkswagen for U.S. customers were launched in 1974 under the Dasher name. More than 222,000 were sold before the car was replaced by the second-generation Passat, this time marketed as the Quantum. The Passat name appeared for the first time in the U.S. market in 1990. The first six generations were exported from Europe.
AutoInformed.com on
In 2011, Volkswagen started assembling the Passat for the North American market in Chattanooga. Claimed to be designed for North America, the 2012 Passat was bigger than the car it replaced, with more rear-seat and trunk space, with German engineering and styling at a competitive price. The U.S.-assembled Passat was exported to Canada, South Korea and Middle Eastern markets since.
“With the Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport in high demand, and the North American production launch of the all-electric ID.4 SUV next year, our future in Chattanooga looks brighter than ever,” said Scott Keogh, President and CEO, Volkswagen Group of America.
The 2022 Passat Limited Edition includes “unique exterior and interior design details created to celebrate the model’s history and recognize the contributions of the employees who built Passat. A run of 1,973 Limited Edition models is “expected to be produced to recognize the year the first Passat was launched in Germany.” The wiggle room here allows VW to cancel the model if there aren’t enough orders.
However since this is the usual paint and badges treatment, Dealers will likely order some for the dwindling US market for passenger cars where the Japanese are well entrenched – Honda, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota. Pricing for the 2022 Passat Limited Edition starts at $30,295 MSRP with a destination cost of $995. The Aurora Red Metallic exterior color option is an additional $395.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Sedan Trends – Passat is Passe’ – VW Kills US Production
Riding off into runaway global warming.
Volkswagen of America announced today that it will end assembly of the Passat sedan in Chattanooga with model year 2022, part of the plant’s conversion to build future electric vehicles. In a well-known marketing practice that occasionally works for a dying species, a short-run Limited Edition joins the lineup.
During the second quarter, light-trucks, crossovers and sport utility vehicles (SUVs), were 76.9% of all new vehicles sold in the US market. The segment is expected to continue to move towards an 80% market share. Pickups accounted for 17.6% of sales for the first half of 2021, down from 20.0% compared to the first half of 2020; crossovers represented 45.9% of sales, up from 41.8% one year ago.
The first versions of the Passat family sedans and wagons – remember them?- from Volkswagen for U.S. customers were launched in 1974 under the Dasher name. More than 222,000 were sold before the car was replaced by the second-generation Passat, this time marketed as the Quantum. The Passat name appeared for the first time in the U.S. market in 1990. The first six generations were exported from Europe.
AutoInformed.com on
In 2011, Volkswagen started assembling the Passat for the North American market in Chattanooga. Claimed to be designed for North America, the 2012 Passat was bigger than the car it replaced, with more rear-seat and trunk space, with German engineering and styling at a competitive price. The U.S.-assembled Passat was exported to Canada, South Korea and Middle Eastern markets since.
“With the Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport in high demand, and the North American production launch of the all-electric ID.4 SUV next year, our future in Chattanooga looks brighter than ever,” said Scott Keogh, President and CEO, Volkswagen Group of America.
The 2022 Passat Limited Edition includes “unique exterior and interior design details created to celebrate the model’s history and recognize the contributions of the employees who built Passat. A run of 1,973 Limited Edition models is “expected to be produced to recognize the year the first Passat was launched in Germany.” The wiggle room here allows VW to cancel the model if there aren’t enough orders.
However since this is the usual paint and badges treatment, Dealers will likely order some for the dwindling US market for passenger cars where the Japanese are well entrenched – Honda, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota. Pricing for the 2022 Passat Limited Edition starts at $30,295 MSRP with a destination cost of $995. The Aurora Red Metallic exterior color option is an additional $395.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.