Volkswagen Passat (NMS)


The Volkswagen Passat is a mid-sized sedan that debuted in January 2011 at the Detroit Auto Show, is manufactured at the Volkswagen Chattanooga Assembly Plant, replaces the Passat B6 in the North American market, and is marketed also in South Korea.
At its introduction, the Passat NMS was part of Volkswagen Group's strategy to sell over 800,000 vehicles per year in the North American market. The vehicle was developed by Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive and Volkswagen Passenger Cars, and is partially based on the PQ46 platform used by the European Passat.

First generation (2012)

North American, Middle Eastern and South Korean models are built at Volkswagen Group of America's new Chattanooga, Tennessee production facility. The new facility is a "Flex Plant" which will allow for the production of vehicles based on the NMS and MQB platforms. VW announced in October 2016 that a seven-seat crossover vehicle to be called Atlas and based on the MQB platform would be built at the plant beginning in late 2016.
The Passat NMS is marketed in the North American, South Korean, Middle Eastern, and Chinese markets, with no plans for a wagon/estate version. With the differing B7, and now B8, Passat models sold outside of these markets, Volkswagen is marketing, worldwide and concurrently, two different Passats. The Passat NMS won the 2012 Motor Trend Car of the Year. The 2013 Passat TDI sets new Guinness World Record for fuel economy under the Non-Hybrid car category. It achieved a fuel consumption of only 3.02 liters on 100 kilometers.
In China, the new model is built by Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive and is marketed as a more upscale model with some interior and exterior differences to the North American model, such as wood-trimmed steering wheel, rear air vents, and LED accented headlights. It is sold alongside models such as the long-wheelbase version of the European Passat known as the Magotan and a B5 Passat-based Passat LingYu. The Passat NMS is manufactured at its Nanjing factory.
Due to LHD, Passat NMS is not sold in Japan, but instead offers European Passat models, currently series B8.

Year-to-year changes

United States
Volkswagen released a sketch of the NMS in February 2009 and a more detailed, second sketch on 28 October 2009. The Passat NMS reflects a design language developed by Walter de Silva, the Italian design chief for the Volkswagen Group, and Klaus Bischoff, the German design leader for the Volkswagen Brand. The Passat NMS interior borrows design elements from the European Passat, e.g., the traditional clock.

Engines

In Canada and the United States, the Passat NMS was initially released with a 2.5L 5-Cylinder engine, 2.0 TDI engine and 3.6L VR6 engine. The 2.5L 5-Cylinder engine was mated to either a 5-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic. The 2.0TDI was offered with a 6-speed manual or optional DSG. The 3.6L VR6 was only mated with an automatic transmission
The 2.0 TDI engine is not offered in Mexico or China.
In China, the NMS is offered with a base 1.4L TSI available with a 5-speed manual or 7-speed DSG. The 1.8L variant was available with the 6 speed automatic or 7 speed DSG gearbox and the 2.0L TSI and 3.0L VR6 come standard with 6- and 7-speed DSG gearboxes.
For the 2014 model year, a new 1.8L TSI four cylinder engine replaced the 2.5L inline-5 in North America.
For the 2015 model year, a new 2.0L EA288 TDI with increased power replaced the previous EA189 2.0L TDI in North America.
For the 2015 model year the 3.6L VR6 remained the same in North America.
Models with the 3.6 VR6 engine were discontinued after the 2018 model year in the US.

Transmissions

Second generation (2020)

For the 2020 model year, the Volkswagen Passat NMS was redesigned featuring revised exterior styling, new wheel and tire combinations, and more standard safety and technology features, which include a suite of standard driver assistance technologies, and a 6.33-inch glass-covered touchscreen infotainment system with next-generation VW CarNet 4G LTE in-vehicle telematics. The second generation is still powered by a 174-horsepower, 2.0L TSI Turbocharged Inline Four-Cylinder gasoline engine and six-speed automatic transmission from the first generation, the new Passat is available in four distinct trim levels: base S, midlevel SE, sporty R-Line, and range-topping SEL. Only the SEL offers full leather-trimmed seating surfaces, a Fender premium audio system with amplifier and subwoofer, and Park Distance Control. The R-Line sports a unique front fascia, as well as larger alloy wheels and tires. S and SE includes many modern technology features such as LED front headlamps, driver assistance technologies, and remote start. The 2020 Passat went on sale at Volkswagen dealerships nationwide in the fall of 2019. Due to the decreasing popularity of sedans in North America, Volkswagen decided not to design the second generation Passat NMS on the Volkswagen Group MQB platform that underpins most new Audi and Volkswagen products. This means that the new Passat NMS does not offer some features such as a fully digital LCD instrument cluster or an eight-speed automatic transmission that are otherwise offered on other vehicles in the Volkswagen lineup.
The second generation Passat NMS is exclusive to North America, as China gets its own version of Passat.

Reception

The Volkswagen Passat NMS won the 2012 Motor Trend Car of the Year.
In a March 2012 comparison test by Car and Driver, the Volkswagen Passat NMS came in first place out of six cars. In a November 2012 comparison by the same magazine with three since-redesigned competitors, the Passat placed last.
In a 2012 comparison test by Motor Trend, the Volkswagen Passat NMS came in first place out of six cars.

Yearly American sales