The Volkswagen Passat is one of the most widely produced sedans in the whole world. It is the vehicle of choice for many families worldwide, but it manages to fly under the radar most of the time. As such, there are many facts about it that aren’t too well-known. Here are just a few.
The Passat launched before the Golf
The Golf is lauded as the car that brought around a new era for Volkswagen when it launched in 1974. This is true to some extent: the Golf is after all the best-selling hatch-back of all time, after all. However, what many people don’t know is that the Passat entered the market a full year before the Golf. In fact, almost all of the revolutionary features that are on the Golf, such as a new gearbox and a water-cooled engine, were first seen on the Passat. In fact, the Passat was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, who also designed the Golf.
The American market had a different name for it
When the Passat was shown to the executives of Volkswagen USA, they were very impressed with the car. However, they felt that the ‘Passat’ name was not very appealing to the American buyers. American companies had started naming cars after animals in the early 1960s, and by 1974, this activity was commonplace amongst American manufacturers. As such, VW USA decided to sell the car under the moniker of ‘Jackal’ in the US, reasoning that this nomenclature would most likely lead to better sales. This proved to be true, as the US was the single largest market for the Passat (Until China took over in the early 2000s).
It was one of the best-selling cars of all time
Just like the Golf, the Passat would stand the test of time and become a household name. While the car changed drastically from generation to generation, the name remained the same for over half a century. Throughout its many generations, Volkswagen managed to sell over 30 million Passats worldwide. The only cars with higher production numbers are the Volkswagen Golf, The Ford F-series truck and the Toyota Corolla. This also makes it the best-selling sedan of all time. As the Passat was discontinued worldwide in 2023, the 30 million number is unlikely to change, but will take a long time to be surpassed by any new vehicles.
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