Volkswagen to add gasoline-powered Passat to S. Korea lineup next month

SEOUL, June 19 (Yonhap) -- Volkswagen Korea said Tuesday it will launch the gasoline-powered Passat midsize sedan next month in a move to revive sales that remain weak following the "diesel gate" emissions cheating scandal.

The German carmaker has set the price of its 2.0-liter gasoline sedan model at the mid and upper 30 million won (US$27,000) range to attract Korean customers, a company spokeswoman said by phone. The vehicles will come with a host of driver assistance systems.

The Passat model previously available in Korea was mated to a 1.8-liter petrol engine.

The upcoming gasoline-powered Passat sedan will be the third of five vehicles Volkswagen Group plans to launch in Korea this year as it maneuvers to regain customers' trust, which took a beating globally.

Volkwagen launched the new Passat GT sedan in Korea in March and the new Tiguan SUV in May. Its sales rose from 426 vehicles in March, to 809 in April, and to 2,194 in May, according to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association.

To boost sales in Korea, the company also offered the 2.0-liter diesel Passat GT at competitive prices. It was priced at 43 million-53 million won, lower than 54 million-66 million won for the same cars sold in Germany. The Tiguan SUV sells at 39 million-48 million won.

Two remaining models are the Tiguan Allspace SUV, which is more spacious than the conventional Tiguan, and the four-door Arteon coupe.

In July 2016, the group "voluntarily" stopped selling its vehicles here as the Seoul government announced it would ban the sale of all Audi and Volkswagen cars and impose heavy fines for emissions cheating.

The company said South Korea is one of the leading countries in the global automotive sector and is a strategic market for the Volkswagen brand.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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