Pictured is the new 2013 Passat in a bay at the Chattanooga Volkswagen plant.Volkswagen of America today reported that September sales plunged 12.2 percent compared to the same period last year, and Passat recorded one of its worst months in 2013.
Just 7,900 of the Chattanooga-made Passat were sold in September, down 16.8 percent from a year ago, according to the German automaker.
VW recorded 31,920 sales in September and 314,833 year-to-date, down 2.6 percent through September.
"While September was an expectedly tough month for the industry, Volkswagen is seeing some stability as we are consistently pacing at a solid level of performance for the second year in a row, a level we haven't seen in 40 years," said Mark McNabb, chief operating officer of Volkswagen of America, in a statement. "As we enter the last quarter of the year, I'm confident we can maintain this pace as our product mix improves and we increase the availability of our 2014 model year vehicles."
VW reported that 35.2 percent of Passat sales were diesel models.
See more in Wednesday's Times Free Press.