- VW will likely bring the Phaeton back to the U.S. in 2015, after the sedan is completely redesigned.
- The current face-lifted Phaeton was unveiled last spring at the Beijing auto show.
- China is now the world's largest market for the Phaeton, accounting for 70 percent of sales.
WOLFSBURG, Germany — Volkswagen is planning to bring its flagship Phaeton sedan back to the U.S., but probably not until the car is completely redesigned in 2015.
The face-lifted Phaeton, which was unveiled earlier this year at the Beijing auto show, went on sale in June in Europe and goes on sale in China in September.
According to the Bloomberg news service, China is now the world's largest market for the Phaeton, accounting for 70 percent of sales.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Juergen Borrmann, who manages the Phaeton plant in Dresden, Germany, said "we have our eyes firmly set on the U.S. market" with the next-generation Phaeton.
Earlier this year, a VW of America spokesman told Inside Line: "We're considering the next-generation (Phaeton) model, which is scheduled for approximately 2015."
VW introduced the Phaeton in 2002 and pulled it from the U.S. market in 2006 after dismal sales. At the time, it was priced tens of thousands of dollars higher than the next most expensive sedan, the Passat.
Inside Line says: Success in North America will not come for the Phaeton unless its new design is spectacular, its performance is exceptional and its price tag is much more reasonable. — Paul Lienert, Correspondent
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phaetonfan2 says:
04:20 PM, 10/01/2010
I am one of the three individuals who bought a US Phaeton and I have to tell you it is the best car I have ever owned. I have previously owned a BMW; currently own a Jaguar and a cornucopia of other American luxury vehicles and none have come close to the Phaeton. I do not care that it has a VW emblem along with the Phaeton name, this just makes it unique. I have been stopped many a times and complimented on my car. I cannot wait until the new Phaetons with the VW emblem arrive in the US.
mrsampson says:
07:53 AM, 09/01/2010
wow. I'm astounded to see the amount of people who love to bash vw with no personal experience with the brand. the phaeton was probably top 3 in its class (better IMO than the s-class of the time). it just didnt sell. if vw can price it to compete with the genesis then they will have a winner. i would still rather see the scirocco come to the us than this.
mrsampson says:
07:52 AM, 09/01/2010
wow. I'm astounded to see the amount of people who love to bash vw with no personal experience with the brand. the phaeton was probably top 3 in its class (better IMO than the s-class of the time). it just didnt sell. if vw can price it to compete with the genesis then they will have a winner. i would still rather see the scirocco come to the us than this.
jmsims1981 says:
03:56 PM, 08/30/2010
Audi is VW's luxury division. What is the difference between this and the A8?
cermedes says:
11:51 AM, 08/23/2010
I like VW's honest approach.
Unfortunately US consumers prefer to be lied to.
When Toyota figured people wouldn's spend $40.000 + on a Toyota, they came up with a marketing excecise called Lexus. So did Nissan with Infiniti and Honda with Acura.
Maybe VW should have created it's own luxury brand under the name "Phaeton" - without any VW badging. I suppose Audi wouln'd have like that idea.
arze73 says:
12:42 PM, 08/20/2010
Where are the "Bad Idea" jeans?
cz_75 says:
01:38 AM, 08/20/2010
If at first you fail, then try and fail again.
This isn't about the vehicle, which looks nice and has a lot of feature content (and questionable reliability, but then so do other large german luxury cars and that gets overlooked). It is about perceptions and VW has no perception of luxury in the US except as an entry-level european car or an upmarket compact. If they could bring the Phaeton here for around $50K, they might sell a decent number, but that's unlikely when you can buy a Passat variant for $40K.
xorbe says:
04:25 PM, 08/19/2010
An American shopping for such an expensive luxury car does not go to VW. The only way they can chip into that game is with a bargain price. And that is not VW's forté!
kurtamaxxxguy says:
03:36 PM, 08/19/2010
VW AG just keeps wanting to ape its sister Audi by bringing in yet another expensive halo car, rather than focusing on improving their dealer network and service.
Will folks really pay an Audi price for inferior VW reliability and VW sales/service?
dino6 says:
03:32 PM, 08/19/2010
It could be that VW dealers are asking for it because its's a higher margin product. A lot of decisions that carmakers make are based on dealer demands not just consumer demand. For example the current VW mini-van that's actually a Dodge was a dealer demand. VW dealers find they don't have any cars for their current customers to move up to once the customers get a bigger family or make more money. Of course once solution is to have VW/Audi dealers so there's a natural progression in price and size.