China Fund News reporter Yishan
Passat, which has been the top seller for many years and is known as the "Volkswagen God Car" by consumers, has also begun to be snubbed by the market, and recently ushered in the end of the US market.
It is understood that after volkswagen company Chattanooga plant in the United States announced the assembly of the last limited edition Passat, the business will shift to electric vehicle production.
Volkswagen plant in the United States announced the suspension of production of Passat
According to Official Volkswagen, Volkswagen of the United States ended the assembly of the last Passat at its Chattanooga plant in Tennessee in December. The last car to roll off the production line was the 2022 Passat Limited Edition Platinum Grey, after the plant had produced nearly 800,000 Passat cars.
With the end of the Passat, the focus of the Chattanooga plant will shift to electric vehicles and will begin localized assembly of the ID.4 SUVs later this year.
This means that the Passat, which has a history of nearly 48 years in the U.S. market, officially bid farewell to its era.
Source: Volkswagen Corporation of america
Volkswagen says more than 1.8 million Passat models have been sold in the U.S. since 1974. Volkswagen's first Passat series of cars and station wagons launched in the U.S. market was named after the Dasher in 1974. The model was replaced by the second-generation Quantum before it sold more than 220,000 units. In 1990, the Passat name first appeared in the American market and has remained so to this day.
2022 Passat Limited Edition, Source: Volkswagen Corporation of America
It is understood that the first six generations of Passats in the US market were exported from Europe, until 2011, when Volkswagen began assembling Passats for the North American market at the Chattanooga plant. The 2012 Passat, designed specifically for North America, was also introduced, and since then the U.S. factory-assembled Passat has been exported around the world, including Canada, South Korea and the Middle East.
Scott Keogh, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group, said Volkswagen is committed to making memories, and nearly 2 million Volkswagen owners have created memories with Passat over the past 50 years. This is also the meaning of the work of nearly 1,000 employees at the Chattanooga factory. "Looking ahead, as demand for Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport continues to increase, and the upcoming all-electric ID.4 SUV this year, we're ready to help the American people create more memories."
It is reported that Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger also congratulated Volkswagen on the change in the Chattanooga plant in the United States, and he believes that the development of the electric vehicle business will provide more high-tech jobs for Hamilton County.
Volkswagen revealed that the Chattanooga plant is transitioning to electric vehicles. Volkswagen has invested more than $2.6 billion in this area and will invest an additional $800 million in electric vehicle production in the future. In addition to assembling the ID.4 and the battery packs it runs at the plant, the local engineering and planning center is becoming Volkswagen's EV testing center in North America, and the Volkswagen Academy is adapting its curriculum to cover electric vehicle mobility.
Volkswagen is focusing on the layout of electric vehicles
For the Volkswagen Passat to officially stop production in the United States, The Drive report believes that this is due to the more inclined SUV and pickup trucks in the United States consumers, resulting in the traditional sedan in the US car market began to come to an end.
According to official data from Volkswagen, the Passat sales in the US market in 2021 were 24,396 vehicles, an increase of 6.2% compared with the same period last year, and among all models, the Tiguan SUV sold the most, with 100687 units sold in 2021, more than four times the sales of passats.
Source: Volkswagen official website
In the domestic market, the data shows that the cumulative sales of Passat models in 2021 will be about 130,000 vehicles, an increase of 1.76% year-on-year, and there is no news of suspension of production.
However, as introduced above, the Chattanooga factory will shift its focus to electric vehicle assembly, with the fire of the new energy concept, driven by Tesla and other new energy vehicle brands, Volkswagen has also begun to focus on the layout of electric vehicles.
Herbert Diess, chairman of Volkswagen's board of directors, has publicly stated that electric vehicles have become the core business of Volkswagen. According to the official report, the Volkswagen Group plans to invest nearly 73 billion euros in electric mobility, digitalization and hybrid power, of which 35 billion euros are dedicated to electric mobility. Among them, the joint venture in China will receive 15 billion euros in investment in the next few years.
According to Volkswagen data, volkswagen's electric vehicles delivered 452,900 units worldwide in 2021, up 95.5% year-on-year from 231,600 units in the same period of 2020; the growth in the Chinese market was the most obvious. In 2021, Volkswagen's electric vehicles delivered 92,700 units in China, a 319.5% increase compared to the same period in 2020.
Volkswagen officials said that the demand for electric vehicles is still high, especially in Europe, with a backlog of 543,000 units, including 95,000 orders for all-electric vehicles.
Ralf Brandsttter, CEO of volkswagen brands, said that despite the limited supply of semiconductors, Volkswagen continues to push the transition to electric vehicles.
It is understood that by 2025, Volkswagen aims to manufacture and sell up to 3 million all-electric vehicles per year, and will realize that the model portfolio will be fully electrified.
Edit: Joey