In 1973, just 50 years ago, Volkswagen released a quality and affordable family sedan., which soon became a benchmark in its category, just like the Golf in its own. Since then, eight generations have passed with undeniable success. Even when this type of sedan lost popularity after the emergence of SUVs, Passat remained at the top of the sales segment. Today, its disappearance is explained not by the SUV, but, of course, by the energy transition.

Replaced by ID.7

Thus, in a few weeks, the last Passat will leave the German plant in Emden.. The end of a story that lasted half a century. Thus she knows the same fate as her worst enemy, viz Ford Mondeo. She also leaves the scene without a replacement. At least, without a direct replacement. Because at VW, we already know that if this is the end of the classic heat engine sedan, the seat won’t be empty. you guessed it The next Volkswagen sedan will be electric. It will be called ID.7and will have a mission to face the Tesla Model 3, the Hyundai Ioniq 6 and of course all the Made in China competitors whose wave has already been announced.

The ID.7 will also replace the Arteon, whose production will also end. What do we already know? The information provided by the manufacturer during the presentation of the model last January at the CES exhibition in Las Vegas is very fragmentary. We know that the wheelbase is about 3 meters. Thus, the interior space should be even larger than the Passat is known to have. And who says that a wide wheelbase means that there is a lot of space for batteries in the chassis. The best-equipped ID.7 should provide a WLTP autonomy of about 700 km. Production will begin in the second half of 2023, initially in China. Then in the US and finally in Europe, probably in early 2024.

The station wagon remained

As we said above, however, the Passat name does not disappear completely. Indeed, VW has decided even more to extend (a little?) the life of the station wagon version. The latter will now be produced in Slovakia together with the Skoda Superb. There remains a question to which we are waiting for an answer. Knowing that the Passat has completed its normal 7-year life cycle, Did VW develop a new generation specifically for the station wagon, or will it be a “simple” evolution of the current generation? Answer by the end of the year.