It’s no secret that sales of four-door models with trunks continue to weaken. For North American buyers, the latest casualty is the midsize Volkswagen Passat, which has been built at the automaker’s Chattanooga, Tenn., factory since 2011. For its final hurrah, there will be exactly 1,973 Passat Special Edition models The number represents the year that the Passat first rolled off the assembly line in Germany. Each car will get special paint and badging. The Passat runs with a 174-horsepower turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder and a six-speed automatic transmission. The Chatanooga plant will begin producing the new VW ID.4 electric utility vehicle in place of the Passat for the 2023 model year.
Volkswagen has said its future is electric and that means the plant that builds the Passat sedan, pictured, will be converted to build the new ID.4 EV. PHOTO: VOLKSWAGEN