The Volkswagen Arteon hasn’t sold well in the U.S. since it was first introduced, so Volkswagen has expedited its initial plan to discontinue the nameplate after the 2024 model year, and instead decided to unplug the Arteon’s life support system one year early. Sadly there won’t be much outcry for the passing of this dashing low-slung four door coupe since it flew under the radar for its whole production run.
Volkswagen announced last June that 2024 would be the final year it would produce the Arteon, and Car And Driver confirmed this with Volkswagen at that time. As I was prepping for my story about the most forgettable cars on sale in 2024, I looked at the Volkswagen website and the Arteon configurator was a mess so I did some digging and found a Cars Direct article announcing the news of the Arteon’s sudden demise.
“Please note that the Model Year 2023 marks the end of the Arteon production for the U.S. market,” reads a letter that was shared on social media that Carscoops found. “Volkswagen will continue to feature the ever-popular Jetta and GLI in our sedan lineup, our core models that offer exceptional performance and style.”
Carscoops reached out to VW spokesperson Mark Gillies who confirmed that the Arteon would be discontinued. Apparently, the Arteon is being discontinued as quickly as possible because of statements that Volkswagen CEO, Thomas Schafer, made in regard to production of low-volume models like the Arteon. The Arteon, and other low-volume models, are being discontinued because of VW’s “Accelerate Forward | Road to 6.5” plan, claims the outlet. Apparently, Volkswagen is making some cuts to save money.
Volkswagen only sold 2,347 Arteons last year, which was actually 605 more Arteons than it sold in 2022. The Arteon was Volkswagen’s worst seller, nearly 900 units behind the next-lowest volume car, the niche Golf R.
The Arteon was a beautiful car that lacked character beyond its beauty. It was a solid car, but a combination of factors led to its lack of popularity and ultimately its premature demise. More people want the high driving position of SUVs than ever before, and the Arteon is nowhere near that. It was a nice car, but it was pricey for a Volkswagen, and when folks spend that much money on a car they would rather have one with an Audi badge on the front. The Arteon was very similar to the A5 Sportback, and only offered a 2.0 liter turbocharged four cylinder which didn’t light anyone’s heart on fire.
If you’re one of the few folks looking for a new Arteon, act fast. Honestly, check the used market, too. The Arteon wasn’t updated much during its sales run, so older models still look current and they already took the brunt of depreciation. Thank you for your service, Arteon. The all-electric ID.7 is likely to be the closest Arteon replacement we will see stateside.