Volkswagen has plans to possibly drop the Volkswagen Passat when the new U.S.-built mid-sized four door sedan goes on sale in 2011.
The new sedan, which as of yet is unnamed, will be larger than the Volkswagen Passat, but priced lower. The new sedan, unlike the Passat, will be less affected by currency exchange rates because it will be built right here in the U.S. As a result, the new sedan will start at around $20,000, whereas the Passat starts at $27,695. The Passat, however, will still be sold in Europe.
Volkswagen estimates that it will sell 100,000 units of the new sedan, a number that the Passat was hitting back in 2002 (selling 96,142 units). But Passat sales dropped last year to 30,034.
The new sedan is expected to be exported as well, but it will primarily be sold in the U.S. market.
Volkswagen will still continue to sell its popular coupe-styled Volkswagen CC sedan, which was derived from the Passat. The Volkswagen CC starts at $28,300.
The CEO of VW Group of America, Stefan Jacoby, has not yet made any final decisions, nor has he laid out any timetable for his final decision, but he has hinted to Volkswagen dealers about the Passat's likely end.
