Photo: Kleber Silva on Behance
The Jetta dates back to 1979 when Volkswagen wanted a car that would fill the void between the Golf and Passat. Once a commercial success, the compact sedan is now nothing more than a shadow of its former self.
Redesigned from the ground up at the 2018 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the Jetta is currently produced in Mexico and China. The German automaker has dropped this nameplate from European markets over sluggish sales, and this trend can also be seen in the United States of America to an extent.
37,364 units have been sold in the first half of 2020, and the health crisis isn’t the only culprit. The Jetta is… well, boring unless you pony up more dollar bills for the GLI. Many consider the compact sedan as a middle-of-the-road alternative to the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla, and speaking of which, did you know that Volkswagen is asking less money than both Japanese automakers?
Despite the pricing advantage, U.S. customers prefer the Civic and Corolla for obvious reasons like reliability and second-hand valuation. A mid-cycle refresh like the pictured rendering from Kleber Silva would do little to stimulate sales because a better-looking Jetta is still a Jetta at the end of the day, not a class-leading car.
The 2022 Jetta will continue lagging behind the Japanese competition, no doubt about that, but Volkswagen isn’t interested in making a better sedan either. The recent unveilings of the ID.4 and Taos are indicators that EVs and crossover utility vehicles are in with the "In Crowd" as Dobie Gray said in his 1964 hit song.
When all is said and done, VW has never recovered in the eyes of the American public following the Dieselgate scandal that included the Jetta with the TDI four-cylinder turbo diesel. From a high point of 467,408 sales in 2012, the German automaker dropped to 363,322 vehicles in 2019 and the full-year estimate for 2020 is even bleaker than that. In other words, the facelifted Jetta may be the last one we’ll get in the United States because of the shift to EVs and CUVs.
37,364 units have been sold in the first half of 2020, and the health crisis isn’t the only culprit. The Jetta is… well, boring unless you pony up more dollar bills for the GLI. Many consider the compact sedan as a middle-of-the-road alternative to the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla, and speaking of which, did you know that Volkswagen is asking less money than both Japanese automakers?
Despite the pricing advantage, U.S. customers prefer the Civic and Corolla for obvious reasons like reliability and second-hand valuation. A mid-cycle refresh like the pictured rendering from Kleber Silva would do little to stimulate sales because a better-looking Jetta is still a Jetta at the end of the day, not a class-leading car.
The 2022 Jetta will continue lagging behind the Japanese competition, no doubt about that, but Volkswagen isn’t interested in making a better sedan either. The recent unveilings of the ID.4 and Taos are indicators that EVs and crossover utility vehicles are in with the "In Crowd" as Dobie Gray said in his 1964 hit song.
When all is said and done, VW has never recovered in the eyes of the American public following the Dieselgate scandal that included the Jetta with the TDI four-cylinder turbo diesel. From a high point of 467,408 sales in 2012, the German automaker dropped to 363,322 vehicles in 2019 and the full-year estimate for 2020 is even bleaker than that. In other words, the facelifted Jetta may be the last one we’ll get in the United States because of the shift to EVs and CUVs.
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