March 23, 2023 01:00 AM

New VW Passat to arrive in September; Skoda Superb to follow

The midsize VW Passat will be sold only as a station wagon, while the Skoda Superb sibling model will also have a sedan variant.

The Volkswagen Passat (shown in current station wagon form) is the best-selling midsize model in Europe. The next generation will not have a sedan variant.

HAMBURG -- Volkswagen will start deliveries of the next-generation Passat midsize car in September, with the related Skoda Superb following at the end of the year, VW brand head Thomas Schaefer said.

The Passat and Superb will be built together at parent VW Group’s plant in Bratislava, Slovakia, after the company decided move production of the Passat from its factory in Emden, Germany, and the Superb from Skoda’s plant in Kvasiny, Czech Republic.

VW will only produce a wagon version of the Passat, dropping the sedan, while Skoda will produce both wagon and hatchback versions of the Superb, Schaefer said on the sidelines of the reveal of the VW ID2all concept.

The Passat was Europe’s best-selling midsize car last year with a volume of 66,621, although that figure was 20 percent less than in 2021, according to figures from market researcher Dataforce. The Superb was second with 45,042.

The Skoda Superb ranked second behind the Passat in the midsize segment. The next version will reach buyers by the end of the year, VW Group says.

The two cars have been developed by Skoda and serve as an example of how VW Group’s volume brands are cooperating more closely while still retaining separate design characteristics, Schaefer told Automotive News Europe last year.

The Passat's former prodution site in Emden now assembles EVs. Output of the ID4 started there last year and with the new ID7 will replace the midsize Arteon currently built there.

The Bratislava plant will continue to build large premium SUVs for VW Group, including the Audi Q7, Porsche Cayenne and VW Touareg.

The plant, which has three production lines, will also continue to build the VW e-Up electric minicar, Christian Vollmer, VW brand production chief, told Automotive News Europe.

VW initially planned to build the Passat and Superb in Kvasiny, before switching them to a planned new plant in Turkey. However, plans to build that factory were canceled.