VW previews CC successor Arteon, says 'under consideration' for U.S.

November 28, 2016 12:00 AM

The Arteon will have a rear hatchback like the Audi A7 rather than a lid hinged below the rear screen as the Passat-based CC has.

WASHINGTON -- Volkswagen previewed a successor to the brand’s aging CC sedan that a U.S. spokesman for the company says is “under consideration” for the U.S.

The automaker today released a sketch of the Arteon, a sedan with fastback styling that VW says previews the next era of VW design. The Arteon is to debut in March at the Geneva auto show and, according to German press reports, is expected to go on sale next summer in Europe for about 33,000 euros ($35,000).

The new model will sit above the Passat sedan and replace the CC in VW’s global lineup, yet its U.S. prospects are unclear, leaving VW with a potential gap at the top of its U.S. car lineup ahead of the planned wind-down of the CC.

The company is evaluating whether to sell the Arteon in the U.S., a VW of America spokesman said. If approved, the Arteon would likely arrive stateside in 2018, he said. CC production is scheduled to wind down in advance of the Arteon, which will be built at VW’s factory in Emden, Germany.

The Arteon’s styling echoes that of the Sport Coupe Concept GTE shown at the 2015 Geneva show. The production sedan is built on a stretched version of VW’s MQB platform that also underpins the Golf, Audi A3, upcoming Atlas midsize crossover and redesigned Tiguan compact crossover.

VW brand chief Herbert Diess said last week that the brand planned to intensify its focus on the U.S., in part by offering more SUVs and large sedans in the near term.

Meanwhile, sedan sales have waned as U.S. car buyers gobble up SUVs and crossovers amid low fuel prices, sending U.S. sales of midsize sedans tumbling 13 percent through October.

The CC is a low-volume model in the U.S. and globally. U.S. sales peaked at more than 29,000 CCs in 2011 before falling to fewer than 10,000 each year since 2014. This year through October, fewer than 2,600 CCs were sold in the U.S.