VW Passat to be withdrawn from the North American market
- The Volkswagen Passat had started the activity of the American plant in Chattanooga (Tennessee) in 2010. At the time, sedans were still selling well in the American market and the Passat managed to reach a peak production of 180,000 units in 2012. The Passat completed the range of sedans of the German brand on the North American market, then composed of the Beetle, Golf and Jetta manufactured in the Puebla plant in Mexico.
- With the growing demand for SUVs, the production of sedans of all carmakers fell down after 2012, and in particular Volkswagen’s. The Jetta sales decreased from 400,000 units in 2012 to 250,000 in 2016 and 130,000 in 2020. The Beetle was discontinued in 2019 The Golf will be withdrawn from the manufacture program in North America. As for the Passat, its production plunged from 180,000 units in 2012 to 75,000 in 2016 and 7,000 in 2020. The new generation appearing in 2019, inspired by Chinese Volkswagen, did not convince, the customers preferring to opt for Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.
- The German group has therefore decided to remove the Passat from the production program at the Chattanooga plant, due to insufficient demand. The Atlas SUV was installed in this factory in 2016, at the same time as the Tiguan at the Puebla site. These two SUVs already represent 60% of Volkswagen's North American production in 2020, which has been growing steadily since 2016. And a third SUV is scheduled for 2021 at the Mexican site in Puebla. Volkswagen is therefore abandoning the family sedan market in North America, along with several American brands.
Contact us: info@inovev.com