By the 1960s, sedans were beginning to lose market. Families were either choosing smaller hatchbacks, or larger station wagons. While VW’s Type 3 was selling well with young families with small kids, larger families were going elsewhere for a larger, more practical family car. As such, Volkswagen had to come up with a plan to win over these customers.
In order to increase their customer base, Volkswagen decided to create a brand-new station wagon based on the type 3 sedan. They used the ubiquitous 1.5L, 4-cylinder engine from the Beetle and the T2 Van, and they used a lengthened version of the chassis from the Type 3 sedan. The result was Volkswagen creating one of the best-looking station wagons of the time. The car was released in early 1962 and was an instant hit with families across Europe.
In 1966, Volkswagen started selling the Variant in the US, where it was called the Squareback. After 9 years on the market, in 1970, the Variant received a facelift, where the single headlight was replaced by two headlights, and the interior was updated to more modrn standards. The engine was also upgraded, with the new 1.6L 4-cylinder unit from the Beetle being used, increasing both power and efficiency. That same year, Volkswagen also started selling the Variant in Brazil, which would be one of the Variant’s strongest markets.
Volkswagen stopped producing the Variant in 1973, when the new Passat was released. This ended a great 12-year production run for the car, in which time it sold over 1 million units. However, due to its popularity in Brazil, Volkswagen sold the car there until 1976, when the Passat was introduced to the Brazilian market.
The Volkswagen Passat station wagon has been produced for the last forty years, with many million units sold and it is one of the most successful station wagons on today’s market. However, it has the Type 3 Variant to thank for its success, as that car laid the foundations for what would become one of the bestselling cars of all time.
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