Closing for Volkswagen Passat sedan

At the end of 2020, the first rumor came out that Volkswagen would remove the Passat sedan from the range early and now it is a fact. The Passat can no longer be ordered new from the beginning of this year, the importer confirms to AutoWeek. The Passat Variant is still there and of course the Arteon, which is higher in the market, is still there. According to the importer, Passats sedan will still be built this year, but they are only intended for customers who already have an order or for delivery from stock. So there are still some new sedans on the way.

The traditional middle class is well on its way to the exit. This is apparent from the fact that the Ford Mondeo has to clear the field, the new Citroën C5 X has a considerably different body shape than we are used to and the Opel Insignia and Renault Talisman are also reportedly on their last round. The Volkswagen Passat may only continue as a Variant in the next generation and the end of the Passat sedan is already coming.

The reason that Volkswagen stops with the Passat sedan is easy to guess. It is simply not a sales success anymore. Not here in the Netherlands either. The importer reports that only ‘less than 150’ were sold in 2021. A total of 745 Passats were sold, so the lion’s share was a Passat Variant. In 2017, more than 650 Passat sedans were sold, although the ratio was already in favor of the Variant. After all, a total of 3,215 Passats were sold at that time.

The first Volkswagen Passat sedan

The Volkswagen Passat has been around for almost 50 years, but the first Passat sedan, strictly speaking, only saw the light of day in 1985 with the B2 generation. Then the originally Santana called Passat sedan was also christened Passat after the facelift. The Passat B1 was only available as a fastback and hatchback. As mentioned, the Passat as a Variant may go through another generation, but there will also be a fully electric alternative on the market in addition to the Passat. You can read more about this here.