Volkswagen UK has axed the rugged Passat Alltrack from its line-up as the off-road estate niche gradually becomes less popular with the rise of SUVs.
Confirmed to Autocar by a spokesman for the brand, the Alltrack is no longer available to order on VW’s website and it’s expected that only a very small amount of dealer stock remains. A future replacement is not planned to be launched in the UK.
The decision is primarily down to poor sales for the variant. Although it is not officially confirmed, it is believed that the sales mix for the Alltrack compared with the regular Volkswagen Passat was an insignificantly small percentage. Indeed, less than 2% of the current-generation Passats for sale on Autotrader are Alltracks.
The wider Volkswagen Group has been consolidating its market-specific model ranges in order to reduce complexity and costs. A number of its off-road estates have been killed off in the UK. The Seat Leon X-Perience was axed in 2018, with just 16 sold in the entire year, and Skoda decided not to bring the facelifted Superb Scout to the UK in 2019. Within the group, only Audi’s Allroad models remain on sale.
Volvo also makes Cross Country versions of its V60 and V90 estates and Mercedes continues to produce an E-Class All Terrain. However, It is unclear if these models are selling strongly enough in the UK to warrant their continued presence beyond this generation.
Buyers are increasingly ditching traditional estates - especially four-wheel-drive ones - in favour of SUV equivalents. Beyond the fashion aspect, buyers also cite as factors for the switch the higher driving position and extra practicality of being able to load children and objects into the car without bending down.
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Family resmblance?
who watches Doug DeMuro cannot help but chuckle at this article.
Estates, form over function
Saw an old Volvo estate the other day, very practical, but these days a SUVs have to many advantages over modern looks over practical design estate. People know what they want suits them and vote with wallet.
What advantages does a modern
I do like an old Volvo estates though, quite fancy a 940.
I wonder if the increase in
I wonder if the increase in SUV sales is due to many adults being overweight and lacking exercise and they may have problems getting into a non SUZ type cars. A large number of MX5 owners tend to move on from these cars as they can no longer sit in the cars due to "health" reasons!!!!!!!