Dealers stop entertaining Volkswagen Passat inquires

We had earlier reported that the Volkswagen Passat was not available off the shelves in showrooms, which prompted the company to send out a release. Here’s what it said, verbatim, “We at Volkswagen continue to sell the current generation of the Passat through our dealer network. As with all our products, serviceability and availability of spares will never be an issue. The requirements of every Passat customer will be catered to with meticulous attention. Globally the next generation of the Passat is being readied and we shall introduce it in the Indian market at the appropriate time.” The quote was attributed to Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Volkswagen Group Sales India Pvt. Ltd.

Not satisfied with the company’s response, we called up a few dealers in Mumbai and Delhi – two popular markets for upmarket cars. And dealers in both cities clearly stated they weren’t entertaining Passat inquires. They had cleared their stocks and henceforth, would not be placing orders for the car with Volkswagen. No test drive cars were available at the dealership either and the dealers were instead pushing us to pick up the top of the line facelifted Jetta as a replacement for the Passat.

The Passat, which made its debut in India in 2007, went through a generation change in 2011. The 2011 Passat was only sold with a diesel engine and a dual clutch automatic transmission. This particular Passat had a few firsts to its credit too. Besides having one of the longest equipment list - long enough to shame cars costing significantly more - it was also the first car in India to get the parking assist feature which picked an appropriate parking space and then guided the car into this spot by steering itself. 

The 2011 Volkswagen Passat also marked a major step-up in the car’s design, quality and finish, while it retained its attribute of being an engaging car to drive. It was also quieter, more powerful and fuel efficient. Moreover, there were no real instances of DSG failure on the 2011 Passat unlike the 2007 model which clearly had its fair share of DSG trouble.