Volkswagen is looking at stopping production of the Chattanooga-made Passat sedan, which is the first vehicle ever assembled at the plant.
As sales of sedans trend down and buyers continue to spend on new SUVs, industry website Wards Auto says that U.S. production of the Passat will cease in 2023.
But Mark Gillies, senior manager of product and technology communications for Volkswagen of America, said that global VW brand chief Ralf Brandstatter hasn’t put a date on stopping production of the Passat.
He said that Brandstatter said in an interview with Wards that there are plans to stop production “at a later date.”
Wards said that as production of the electric ID.4 SUV launches in Chattanooga in 2022 and reaches full capacity in 2023, that’s when Passat output ends.