Volkswagen Passat NMS

Volkswagen Passat NMS

The 2012 Volkswagen Passat (formerly known as the Volkswagen New Midsize Sedan, or NMS while under development) is a mid-sized sedan which replaces the previous-generation Passat B6 in the North American market.The model is also shipped overseas to South Korea. The Passat NMS was officially announced in January 2011 at the Detroit Auto Show. Built at the Volkswagen Chattanooga Assembly Plant, the new Passat allows building and shipping costs to be reduced significantly over its predecessor making it more competitive to offerings from competitors at the $20K mark.

In China, the new model is built by 上海大众汽车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 NMS is not going to be sold outside the North American, South Korean, and Chinese Markets, with no plans for a wagon/estate version. With the differing B7 Passat models sold outside of these markets, Volkswagen will be marketing two different Passats concurrently across the globe. The Volkswagen Passat NMS won the 2012 Motor Trend Car of the Year.

Due to LHD, Passat NMS is not sold in Japan, but instead offers European Passat B7.