Dead: Volkswagen Arteon

One of the most beautiful modern Volkswagen models is officially no more. After the Arteon liftback died in 2023, the wagon is also being retired. Never sold in America, the more practical Shooting Brake was built at the Osnabrück factory, while the regular model rolled off the assembly line in Emden. VW built nearly 190,000 units during eight years of production for the “sedan” and five for the long-roof model.

VW spokesperson Andreas G. Schleith shared the sad news on his LinkedIn account. The Arteon Shooting Brake’s demise has been moved forward by a year. In 2024, Martin Hube, spokesperson for the Arteon, Passat, Touareg, and the upcoming ID.2 told us the wagon would be discontinued in 2026. However, the Osnabrück factory has already stopped making the stylish family car.

VW will continue to build its sole convertible at the same plant where the nicer, more luxurious Passat Variant alternative was made. The final T-Roc Cabriolet will be assembled in mid-2027. What happens with the plant after that? Its fate has not been decided, but VW says it’s exploring options “for a different use of the site.”

VW had intended to build an even fancier and more expensive car to slot above the Arteon. A running prototype of a second-generation Phaeton was unearthed in mid-2022. Had it gone into production, the flagship car would’ve been around 208.6 inches (5.3 meters) long, roughly the same size as the latest BMW 7 Series. Oh, and the German automaker wanted to cram a W-12 engine underneath the hood. Dieselgate happened, and VW ultimately decided to axe the project.

Aside from discontinuing the cars we mentioned, VW also recently bid adieu to its VR-6 engine after nearly 34 years of production.

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