Volkswagen of America Inc. will end the assembly of the Passat sedan in Chattanooga with model year 2022 to make room for building future electric vehicles. To celebrate the role Passat has had in the U.S., a short-run Limited Edition will join the lineup with Chattanooga-inspired details.
“We’ve sold some version of the Passat for nearly 50 years, and the Passat launched our relationship with Chattanooga, which supports thousands of jobs,” said Scott Keogh, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America Inc. “With the Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport in high demand, and the North American production launch of the all-electric ID.4 SUV next year, our future in Chattanooga looks brighter than ever.”
A run of 1,973 Limited Edition models will be made in Chattanooga, recognizing the year the first Passat was launched in Germany. The 2022 Passat Limited Edition will have unique exterior and interior design details, including four color combinations, distinctive 18-inch aluminum alloy wheels and mirror caps, special cupholder mats that feature an aerial map of the city and an aerial line drawing of the Chattanooga factory, comfort sport seats with Vienna leather seating surfaces and more. The 2022 Passat Limited Edition will start at $30,295 MSRP with a destination cost of $995.
The first version of the Passat for U.S. customers was launched in 1974 under the Dasher name, which sold 222,000 units before the second-generation Passat came out under the Quantum edition. The Passat name first appeared in the U.S. market in 1990. The first six generations were exported from Europe.
In 2011, Volkswagen started assembling the Passat for the North American market in Chattanooga. This 2012 Passat was bigger than the car it replaced, with ample rear-seat and trunk space. Since then, the U.S.-assembled Passat has been exported around the world.
