2024 VW Passat & Skoda Superb: New models coming, Passat a wagon only

The ninth-generation 2024 Volkswagen Passat will be sold exclusively in wagon form.

Automotive News Europe recently spoke to Volkswagen passenger cars boss Thomas Schäfer, who confirmed the next-generation Passat is expected to debut in the coming months, with European deliveries commencing in September.

To reduce development costs, it has been developed with the assistance of Skoda's engineers alongside the mechanically-related all-new Superb, also due later this year.

Production for the Passat and Superb will shift from Germany and the Czech Republic, respectively, to Slovakia for the new models.

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Both vehicles will be underpinned by the Volkswagen Group's updated MQB Evo platform, as found underneath the latest Volkswagen Golf, and the next-generation Tiguan and Skoda Kodiaq.

Earlier reports suggested the vehicles would be produced at a new facility in Turkey, but Automotive News Europe said these plans had been scrapped.

The manufacturing facility in Bratislava, Slovakia, will remain home to the Volkswagen Group's MLB Evo-based large SUVs, including the Volkswagen Touareg, Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne.

It's no real surprise that the incoming Passat would go wagon-only, as European production of the current Passat sedan ended in January 2022, with buyers pointed towards the Arteon liftback.

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Volkswagen Australia discontinued the Passat sedan at this time.

It has yet to confirm if the new-generation Passat wagon will reach local shores, following dwindling sales of mid-size passenger vehicles – despite its use with police fleets in Victoria and New South Wales.

If the new Passat isn't sold in Australia, these fleets would likely switch to the Skoda Superb, which recently joined the ranks in Western Australia.

The forthcoming Volkswagen ID.7 electric sedan – a rival to the Tesla Model 3 – will act as the direct successor to the Passat sedan, and likely the Arteon in the coming years.

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Under the bonnet, the redesigned Passat and Superb should offer mild-hybrid petrol and diesel engines, and expanded plug-in hybrid options, to meet the stricter Euro 7 emissions regulations set to be enforced from July 1, 2025.

In Europe, the Passat was the best-selling mainstream 'D-segment' vehicle in 2022 with 66,621 sales – down 20 per cent from 2021, according to market research firm Dataforce – while the Superb followed with 45,042 registrations.

Locally, the Toyota Camry and all-electric Tesla Model 3 dominate the medium passenger car segment, with just 917 Passats and 655 Superbs sold in Australia last year.