Passat, which has been firmly in the top sales position for many years and known as "Volkswagen divine car" by consumers, has also begun to be ignored by the market, and recently ushered in a curtain call in the American market.
It is understood that the chatanooga factory of Volkswagen announced that after assembling the last limited edition Passat, the business will focus on the production of electric vehicles
Volkswagen factory in the United States announced the shutdown of Passat
According to the official information of Volkswagen, Volkswagen completed the assembly of the last Passat at the Chattanooga factory in Tennessee last December. The last off-line car is the 2022 Passat limited edition platinum gray, while the factory has produced nearly 800000 Passat cars before.
With the end of Passat, the focus of chatanooga factory will turn to electric vehicles and will start the localized assembly of id.4 SUV later this year.
This means that Passat, which has a history of nearly 48 years in the American market, officially bid farewell to its era.
Volkswagen said that more than 1.8 million Passat models have been sold in the United States since 1974. Previously, the first Passat series sedans and station wagons launched by Volkswagen in the U.S. market were named after dasher in 1974. The model was replaced by the second-generation Passat (quantum), which had sold more than 220000 vehicles before. In 1990, Passat's name first appeared in the U.S. market and has remained so far.
It is understood that the first six generations of Passat in the U.S. market were exported from Europe. Until 2011, Volkswagen began to assemble Passat for the North American market in chatanooga factory. At the same time, the 2012 Passat specially designed for North America was launched. Since then, the Passat assembled in the U.S. factory has been exported to all over the world, including Canada, South Korea and the Middle East.
Scott Keogh, President and CEO of Volkswagen Group, said that Volkswagen is committed to making memories. Nearly 2 million Volkswagen owners and Passat have created memories together in the past 50 years. This is also the significance of the work of nearly 1000 employees of chatanooga factory. "Looking ahead, with the continuous increase in demand for Atlas and Atlas cross sport, as well as the all electric id.4 SUV to be launched this year, are ready to help the American people create more beautiful memories."
It is reported that Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger also congratulated the changes of Volkswagen's Chattanooga factory. He believes that the development of electric vehicle business will provide more high-tech jobs for Hamilton County.
Volkswagen revealed that chatanooga factory is transforming to electric vehicles. Previously, Volkswagen has invested more than US $2.6 billion in this field, and will invest an additional US $800 million in the production of electric vehicles in the future. In addition to assembling id.4 and its operating battery pack in the factory, the local engineering and planning center is becoming Volkswagen's EV test center in North America, and the Volkswagen academy is also adjusting its courses to cover electric vehicle travel
Volkswagen power layout electric vehicle
For the official shutdown of Volkswagen Passat in the United States, the drive report believes that this is because American consumers prefer SUVs and pickups, leading to the end of traditional cars in the American auto market.
According to the official data of Volkswagen, the annual sales volume of Passat in the U.S. market in 2021 was 24396, an increase of 6.2% compared with the same period last year. Among all models, Tiguan SUV had the largest sales volume. The annual sales volume in 2021 was 100687, more than four times that of Passat
source: Volkswagen official website
In the Chinese market, the data show that the cumulative sales of Passat models in 2021 is about 130000, with a year-on-year increase of 1.76%. At present, there is no news of shutdown.
However, as mentioned above, chatanooga factory should focus on electric vehicle assembly. With the fire of new energy concept, driven by Tesla and other new energy vehicle brands, Volkswagen also began to focus on the field of electric vehicles.
Herbert diess, chairman of the board of directors of Volkswagen, has publicly said that electric vehicles have become the core business of Volkswagen. According to the official introduction, Volkswagen Group plans to invest nearly 73 billion euros in electric travel, digitization and hybrid power, of which 35 billion euros is dedicated to electric travel. Among them, the joint venture in China will receive 15 billion euros of investment in the next few years.
Volkswagen data show that in 2021, the delivery volume of Volkswagen's electric vehicles worldwide reached 452900, an increase of 95.5% year-on-year compared with 231600 in the same period in 2020; Among them, the growth in the Chinese market is the most obvious. In 2021, the delivery volume of Volkswagen's electric vehicles in China reached 92700, a sharp increase of 319.5% compared with the same period in 2020
source: Volkswagen official website
Volkswagen officials said that at present, the demand in the field of electric vehicles is still high, especially in Europe, with a backlog of 543000 vehicles, including orders for 95000 all electric vehicles.
tter则表示，尽管半导体供应有限，大众汽车仍在继续推进向电动汽车的过渡。', 'dstRalf brandsttter, CEO of Volkswagen brand, said that despite the limited supply of semiconductors, Volkswagen is still promoting the transition to electric vehicles.
It is understood that by 2025, Volkswagen aims to manufacture and sell up to 3 million all electric vehicles every year, and will realize the full electrification of the model portfolio.
