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According to media reports, Volkswagen confirmed that it will stop production of the Passat hatchback version in the European market (domestic equivalent "Maiteng"). In the future, the European market will only retain the travel version (domestic counterpart "Weizhao"). The new generation of Passat travel version will still be based on the Volkswagen MQB platform and will provide both fuel and plug-in hybrid options, and is expected to go on sale in September this year.

In short, the new generation of Passat cars will only have travel models, while the domestic hatchback version may become a Chinese special model. In fact, the news that Volkswagen confirmed that the Passat will officially stop production in Europe is not surprising. As early as November 2020, there was news in the market that Volkswagen planned to stop production of the Passat in the European market in 2023. At that time, the news also showed that the discontinued model only involved the Passat hatchback, while the Passat travel version remained because the European travel model Passat was more popular than the hatchback. Two years later, the American version of the Volkswagen Passat also stopped production, and Volkswagen launched the last American version of the Volkswagen Passat at its Chattanooga plant in Tennessee in January 2022, officially ending its 48-year history in the US market, but the Passat travel version, Arteon and Arteon hunting version will continue to be produced.

After Volkswagen announced that it would stop production of Passat cars in the European market, it means that both the European version of the Passat hatchback and the American version of Volkswagen Passat have officially stopped production. Passat (Passat) is one of the most representative medium-sized cars owned by Volkswagen, which was first born in 1973 and entered the American market in the following year. Up to now, it has produced and sold more than 3000 million cars.

"Automotive Industry concern" believes that whether it is the European Passat hatchback version or the American version of the Passat model, Volkswagen chose to "abandon" the model mainly because of poor sales. But unlike the American market, the European market is not that there is no market for cars, but because consumers in central and eastern Europe prefer Skoda's Superb hatchback version, so Volkswagen chose to stop production of the Passat hatchback version as the same group of medium-sized cars in order to make way for the speedster model. At the same time, although the Passat is still one of the most popular models in the European market segment in the past year, most of its orders come from the Passat travel version, and the European Passat travel model is significantly better than the Passat hatchback sedan. Volkswagen also launched the Arteon series models on the same platform as the Passat in 2020, so Volkswagen decided to stop production of the Passat sedan based on market considerations.

However, Volkswagen has also made it clear before that the Passat competitor is not Skoda Superb or Arteon series models, but the highly competitive SUV market. In the future, the European market will still provide Skoda Speed School and Arteon cars, while the pure electric model ID.7 will be launched.

According to the latest report, the new Passat will be transferred from the Emden plant in Germany to the Bratislava plant in Slovakia, where the car will be produced together with the new express in Bratislava, while the Emden plant in Germany will be used to produce the Volkswagen ID. Series of models. Among them, the new generation Skoda Speed School will launch hatchback and travel models, which are built on the same platform and use the same transmission as the Passat, and are expected to start delivery by the end of this year. In addition, although the Passat hatchback version is no longer available in the European market, its Arteon (domestic counterpart "CC") hatchback will continue to be sold.

After more new models enter the bureau, the Volkswagen European market sedan will be composed of Volkswagen Arteon, Volkswagen Arteon Shooting Brake, New Acer and New Speed School. As for new energy models, Volkswagen ID.7 will also provide hatchback version and travel version.

According to the latest news, the current Passat may usher in the last car off the line in the summer, and then officially stop production, which also means that the domestic hatchback version will become a Chinese special model. In the domestic market, the Passat model has two product lines, namely FAW-Volkswagen Maiteng and SAIC-Volkswagen Passat, in which the prototype car of FAW-Volkswagen Maiteng is the European version of Passat, and the prototype car of SAIC-Volkswagen Passat is the American version of Passat. The two models are also considered veteran models in the B-class car market.

According to the 2022 midsize sedan list according to Automotive Industry concern, SAIC-Volkswagen Passat and FAW-Volkswagen Maiteng sold 163500 and 152400 cars respectively in 2022, ranking third and fourth in the 2022 midsize sedan sales list. second only to Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. Auto Industry concern has previously reported that the Passat also won Class B sales in 2016 and 2019, while Maiteng won Class B sales in 2017 and 2018, when annual sales exceeded 200000 vehicles. At present, the domestic B9 (Maiteng) has been officially established and the production line is being upgraded synchronously, which will be officially unveiled at the end of this year or early next year at the earliest. It is not clear whether Volkswagen Passat will have an impact on the domestic sales of FAW-Volkswagen Maiteng and SAIC-Volkswagen Passat models after the official suspension of production in Europe.

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