(December 1, 2020) The long-running mid-sized Volkswagen Passat will be discontinued in the United States by 2023, according to news sources. The Passat is built in Volkswagen's Chattanooga, Tenn., plant and will reportedly be replaced on the production line by the all-electric ID4. While sales of the Passat were up 25 percent during the first three quarters of 2020, only 16,190 units were produced.

Popularity of mid-sized sedans has been dropping fast in North America with buyers gravitating toward crossover SUVs. Sedan sales are off 27 percent through the first three quarters of the year after dropping 7.9 percent in 2019. Some brands have completely abandoned the sedan market or are exiting the market including Ford, Chrysler, Buick and Lincoln.

In a class with competitors such as the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, the Passat was never a hot seller. Volkswagen sold just 14,123 Passats in all of 2019 — less than the number of Camrys Toyota sells in a month. That dismal performance is likely due in part to production of the last-generation Passat winding down to make way for the new 2020 Passat, which is a restyled version of the same old model, using the same platform. The Passat is currently built along side the Atlas and Atlas Sport Cross SUVs in the Tennessee plant.

"We've made a decision to cancel the Passat for the U.S. The sales trend is very firmly in favor of SUV models, as indicated by the success of the Atlas," Volkswagen brand chief Ralf Brandstätter told Wards Auto News.

Passat's history can be traced back to 1973 and is now in its eighth generation under several names starting with the Dasher in the U.S.

Sources: News reports