Volkswagen Passat Sales Set Annual Record

Volkswagen's U.S. sales are up more than 32 percent through August, led by the Passat and the Jetta compact. It's the biggest sales increase of any major automaker. The VW increase is more than double the increase in total U.S. car and truck sales.

DETROIT (AP) -- Volkswagen says it has sold more Passat (Pass-AHT) midsize cars this year than any other year.

The German automaker sold 77,524 Passats as of Wednesday, beating the car's old record of 77,523, set in 2001.

Volkswagen's U.S. sales are up more than 32 percent through August, led by the Passat and the Jetta compact. It's the biggest sales increase of any major automaker. The VW increase is more than double the increase in total U.S. car and truck sales.

But even with the increase, the Passat still trails the top-selling midsize cars by a long way. Through August, Toyota sold more than 280,000 Camrys, while Honda has sold more than 218,000 Accords.

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