Work on the next-generation Volkswagen Passat continues and prototypes of the vehicle are now back at the Nurburgring for new high-speed evaluations. We spied different trial vehicles undergoing tests at the track back in the fall of 2022 and it seems that the German automaker wants to make some final adjustments before the wagon is ready to be launched on the market.
If you haven’t heard already, the new Passat is going to be sold exclusively as a station wagon. The ID.7 now acts as a replacement for the Passat sedan and the B9 generation of the D-segment model will be distributed around Europe only in a long-roof version. As a reminder, the Passat was discontinued in the United States after the 2022 model year and there are no signs its successor would arrive stateside.
Gallery: 2024 VW Passat new spy photos
For the new model, Volkswagen tasked Skoda with most of the development work but this shouldn’t really come as a surprise given the close connection between the German model and its Czech cousin. Both the Passat and the Superb will be produced at Volkswagen Group’s plant in Bratislava (Slovakia), leaving production volumes for electric vehicles in Emden (Germany) and Kvasiny (Czech Republic). As a side note, the Superb will continue to be available in both liftback and wagon forms.
The Passat sedan’s demise from the market is probably not very surprising, though. Europe’s D-segment has been constantly losing customers as more and more people now switch to SUVs. The Ford Mondeo and Opel Insignia, once popular D-segment cars, are no longer available as the segment continues to shrink.
As far as the new Passat B9 is concerned, it will be an evolution of the existing car riding on the MQB platform. It will receive new and more efficient gas and diesel engines designed to meet the upcoming Euro 7 emissions standards. Plug-in hybrid powertrains haven’t been confirmed but it’s probably safe to assume they will be part of the range.
The deliveries of the new Passat are scheduled to begin in September this year, which means an official debut is most likely coming within the next few months.
