Volkswagen confirmed on Tuesday that it has halted production of its Passat TDI diesel model at the company’s Chattanooga, Tennessee, plant.
Although not totally shocking, the announcement is somewhat unexpected. The Chattanooga plant continued to produce Passat diesel models in limited numbers even after it was revealed on September 18 that those car were equipped with an emissions cheating device. The EPA immediately barred the Passat TDI from sales in the U.S., but production of the diesel-powered mid-size sedan continued through at least mid-October.
Scott Wilson, a spokesman for the Chattanooga plant, confirmed to Automotive News on Tuesday that Passat TDI production had stopped, but he couldn’t say when the shutdown officially occurred.
The TDI halt isn’t expected to affect production of the revised 2016 Passat, which is just now entering production in Tennessee. “As we are in the middle of the ramp up of the production volume, it is no problem to adjust the mix to accommodate this change,” Wilson said.
Construction of a new plant on the Chattanooga site is also continuing as planned. That facility will eventually build a three-row crossover utility vehicle.
At this point it remains unknown when or even if TDI production will resume at the Passat plant. So far VW hasn’t outlined a specific fix for the emissions cheat and the company withdrew its request for certification for 2016 2.0L TDI models on October 7.
Photo by Byron Hurd.
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