Volkswagen has swapped out dials and switches for touchscreen controls in the interior of its new Passat midsize car.
Now in its ninth generation, the Passat will be sold in Europe only as a station wagon, with the sedan version dropped. Buyers are switching from midsize sedans to SUVs and crossovers but wagons are still popular in VW's home market of Germany.
It will offer two plug-in hybrid models alongside diesel and gasoline drivetrains when it launches in the first quarter of 2024, VW said in a statement on Thursday.
The Passat will have its public debut during the IAA Mobility auto show in Munich from Sept. 5 to 10.
The model has been designed alongside the upcoming Skoda Superb midsize car and will be built in the same VW Group factory in Bratislava, Slovakia, in a shift from the Passat’s current production site of Emden, Germany, which is building the Passat-sized VW ID7 all-electric car.