Remember Volkswagen Passat sedan? It is officially dead in Europe too. Know why

Remember the Volkswagen Passat sedan that was once sold in India for two years before being discontinued in 2019? That upmarket midsize sedan has also been discontinued in Europe, claims a report by Automotive News. The automaker has decided to offer only the next generation iteration of the Volkswagen Passat in wagon body style. This decision comes despite the Passat being the bestselling car in its segment across the European market in 2022. Interestingly, the car was previously discontinued in the US market as well.

Volkswagen boss Thomas Schafer reportedly said that the auto company has decided to axe the good old midsize sedan from the company's product lineup. The death of the Volkswagen Passat sedan comes at a time when several sedans from different auto manufacturers have been axed. This indicates how the automakers are focusing their energy and resources on a higher profiting segment like crossovers and SUVs over the sedans, which have witnessed fewer takers over the past few years.

Also, this comes at a time when Volkswagen is restructuring its product strategy in a bid to streamline the model lineup in favour of electric and electrified vehicles, which is a key part of the brand's strategy to go fully electric in the coming years.

The D segment sedan was discontinued in India back in 2019 due to a lack of consumer enthusiasm about this model. Despite the car being an eyecatcher, there were not many takers for this car, which forced the automaker to axe the car from its product lineup in India. It was sold with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine in India, which was mated to a six-speed DSG automatic transmission and was capable of churning out 174 bhp of peak power and 350 Nm of maximum torque.