VOLKSWAGEN'S acclaimed new Passat has suffered a production setback which could mean fleet operators are kept waiting until March for delivery of the new model, originally due to arrive in the UK at the beginning of next month.

The news is a serious setback to VW's most important model since the manufacturer repositioned itself to target the fleet sector last year. Although Volkswagen has not taken any formal orders, demand is believed to be extremely high. Volkswagen UK is blaming the delay on a production hiccup which was only discovered within the last two weeks.

Production of left hand drive cars at the Emden factory is well under way for the rest of Europe. The importer is pressing the factory for increased priority when right hand drive models become available, which could mean more engines than just the TDI and 1.6 petrol engines at launch.