2023 Volkswagen Passat Variant spy footage

Volkswagen was spotted testing a prototype for a redesigned Passat.

It’s due later this year and is expected to be offered exclusively in wagon form, which VW is calling a Variant.

Don’t look for the new Passat to reach the US. He wouldn’t reach these shores even if he had a limousine option. That’s because the Passat sold in the US, retiring after 2022, uses a separate, less expensive platform than the Passats sold in the rest of the world.

The global Passat uses the Volkswagen Group’s MQB platform, and the redesigned model will use the updated version of this platform, which is featured in the latest Golf and several other models in the VW Group’s portfolio of brands.

Spy footage of the 2023 Volkswagen Passat Variant – Copyright: Baldauf

The corporate twin of the global Passat, the Skoda Superb, is also set to be redesigned shortly on the updated MQB platform. However, it is expected that the Skoda will be available as both a sedan and a station wagon.

The powertrain lineup should consist of a range of inline-4s, including some in plug-in hybrid configuration. A revised Softroader Passat Alltrack is also to come.

Volkswagen ID.7

You might be wondering why there isn’t a sedan option offered for the Passat. While body styles are on the decline in most markets except China, later this year VW will launch a Passat sedan alternative in the form of the ID.7 electric car. The ID.7 is based on the VW Group’s MEB platform found in the ID.4 and upcoming ID.Buzz and is confirmed for sale in the US. An ID.7 car is also planned and could possibly reach US showrooms as well.

The production of the new Passat takes place at the VW Group plant in Bratislava, Slovakia. The ID.7 is built in a plant in Emden, Germany.