√Next-generation Volkswagen Passat may not come to Australia

The next Volkswagen Passat – due in Europe next year, expected as a wagon only – may not be offered in Australia amid slowing passenger car sales and high demand for other VW models locally.

The future of the Volkswagen Passat in Australia beyond the current generation is in doubt, amid declining sales of sedans and wagons – and the need to prioritise production slots for popular VW SUVs.

Spy photos show development of the next Passat is well underway, ahead of an overseas launch due next year – expected to be offered solely in the more popular wagon form after the sedan was dropped by VW locally late in the current model’s life cycle.

But doubt has been cast on whether it comes to Australia, as sales of the Passat – and the mid-size passenger car segment it competes in – have declined by 80 per cent over the last decade.

“I think we’ve got plans to provide more information about that … next year,” said Volkswagen Australia head of product for passenger vehicles, Michelle Rowney, when asked by Drive if the new Passat is planned for Australia, and if it could offer plug-in hybrid power.

“I think publicly we’ve said that we’re exploring Passat PHEV. We’ve obviously … seen that popularity in that segment, and with the Fringe Benefit Tax changes, we can see it could be quite a good vehicle for us, but we don’t have that car confirmed.”

When asked if there is a chance the new Passat might not come to Australia, Ms Rowney said: “Yeah, there is a chance.”

When asked if the new Volkswagen Passat might be offered only as a plug-in hybrid in Australia, the executive said: “It could be. It depends on whether we can get it approved. We’re still working on the business case, but we’re still working with the factory on whether we can actually bring it in, whether we can get into the project. There are a lot of different milestones that we still need to work through.”

Another complication facing the future of the Passat in Australia – aside from the market decline in sedan and wagon sales – is the popularity and long wait lists for Volkswagen’s SUV models.

The Passat’s expected launch in 2023 or 2024 would also coincide with the arrival of Volkswagen’s first electric cars in Australia, the ID.3, ID.4 and ID.5 – of which VW Australia plans to sell 6500 in 2024, placing it among Australia’s top electric-vehicle brands.

When asked if Volkswagen would prioritise production-line slots for high-volume SUVs or electric vehicles (EVs) – rather than a niche model such as the Passat – Ms Rowney said: “We know we’re late to (electric vehicles) but … we’re a volume brand, we want to sell volume. So our big focus has been ID.4 and ID.5, followed by ID.3. They’re SUVs, they’re the cars that people want to drive.”

If Australia misses out on the next Volkswagen Passat it would come as a blow to police forces around the country, as Passat sedans and wagons are used by authorities in NSW, Victoria and Western Australia for general duties and, in some cases, highway patrol work.

One option may be the related Skoda Superb, which in 2.0-litre all-wheel-drive form is now in use as a highway patrol car in Western Australia.

Volkswagen Passat NSW police car. Photo credit: Kenny Holland

Due in European showrooms next year, the new Volkswagen Passat – now entering its ninth generation, known to VW fans as the ‘B9’ – is expected to be an evolution of its predecessor, rather than an all-new car.

But for the first time, a four-door sedan body style is not expected to be offered – instead, spy photos have only shown a five-door wagon in development, after it was the more popular option among buyers of the outgoing car in Europe.

The death of the Passat sedan will leave Volkswagen Australia without a four-door sedan in its line-up – and leave only five-door cars – as the Arteon ‘sedan’ is technically a five-door liftback, with a hatchback rear end.

The new Volkswagen Passat will be the first not produced in Germany – and its long-time home factory of Emden – instead moving to a factory in Bratislava, Slovakia, at least for European-market models.

It is slated to be twinned with the next-generation Skoda Superb, which is expected to be available in ‘liftback’ (hatchback) and wagon body styles.

Spy photos show the new Volkswagen’s exterior styling will be evolutionary – mixing a familiar body shape with smoother surfaces and design cues seen on newer VW models – while the interior is set to adopt a super-sized, circa-15-inch touchscreen mounted high on the dashboard.

A range of petrol engines are expected to be available in Europe – likely to include an evolution of the 2.0-litre turbo motor in today’s model – plus a plug-in hybrid, with a small four-cylinder engine and electric motor.

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