Volkswagen Admits They Cancelled The Phaeton Flagship Because Of Tesla's Model S

Volkswagen has admitted that development of the next-generation Phaeton was cancelled because of the Tesla Model S.

Talking at the Geneva Motor Show, Volkswagen brand boss Herbert Diess said that development of the new-age Phaeton was quite progressed when the marque decided to pull the plug for fear that it wasn't going to match up to the Model S.

“We were quite far advanced with the next Phaeton but it became clear it wasn’t enough of a leap forwards. A modern large saloon has to be competitive and have an advantage over the Tesla, which is the benchmark and in many regions dominates the segment.

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TheSteve - 3/10/2017 1:19:32 PM

+3 Boost

VW cancelled the next attempt of relaunching the Phaeton because of Tesla?

And here I am thinking it's because of the dismal sales they generated the first two times around that sealed its fate. Go figure!

HenryN - 3/10/2017 2:06:51 PM

+1 Boost

Sometimes the insiders do have better understanding of their own challenges than the casual observers.

atc98092 - 3/10/2017 3:53:57 PM

+3 Boost

Actually, it sold well in places other than the US.

MDarringer - 3/10/2017 10:09:30 PM

-1 Boost

Define "sold well".

MDarringer - 3/11/2017 9:54:19 AM

-4 Boost

Clearly you had no problem with people laughing at you that you had spent $100K for a car with a VW emblem on the grille.

The Phaeton would have made a brilliant $45K car because that's what it was at heart.

MDarringer - 3/12/2017 1:54:40 PM

-2 Boost

Clearly I do. It was a rolling turd. Numerous electrical problems. Horrible reliability. Typical VW "something is always wrong" experience. If something breaks, it's stunningly expensive to fix. It was truly terrible.

MDarringer - 3/14/2017 10:17:31 PM

+1 Boost

@FAQMD so your logic is that because all German cars had shitty reliability that therefore the Phaeton is to be lauded? #idiot

carloslassiter - 3/11/2017 2:50:35 PM

0 Boost

So the head of VW knows he can't compete with Tesla, but the geniuses in this forum are convinced that Musk is a madman?

MDarringer - 3/11/2017 10:31:29 PM

+1 Boost

That shows you how "clustered" VW is. Musk is a madman moron and VW is worse off.

PUGPROUD - 3/11/2017 3:59:15 PM

+1 Boost

Poor sales and the cash drain from dieselgate likely the reasons.

mre30 - 3/11/2017 11:54:16 PM

0 Boost

VW must be closing or re-purposing the Dresden factory that manufactures the Phaeton and the Flying Spur (sister cars). Bentley has very quietly completely discontinued the Flying Spur (selling remaining stock only - you cannot order a custom (bespoke!) Flying Spur any longer).

The two are crazy obsolete and in the US, the refreshed Flying Spur of 2014 never really got traction - perhaps because it was ugly.

Flying Spur lease return customers are being put into Bentayga's instead.

VW is just one hot mess at this point!

MDarringer - 3/12/2017 5:28:56 PM

0 Boost

VW's sedan line should end at the Passat, or maybe even with the Jetta. The Arteon is a duplicate of a Audi segment offering as is the Phaeton.

MDarringer - 3/12/2017 5:28:56 PM

0 Boost

VW's sedan line should end at the Passat, or maybe even with the Jetta. The Arteon is a duplicate of a Audi segment offering as is the Phaeton.

SanJoseDriver - 4/17/2017 1:42:32 AM

+1 Boost

Except they are dominating the S-class, 7-series, and A8.

malba2367 - 3/14/2017 8:44:44 PM

+2 Boost

Phaeton was designed at a time when VW was flush in cash, and the CEO was intent on creating a world class luxury car built in a showcase factory simply because he could. Many parts of has this car were designed without regard to cost and were simply better than anything out there (ie. the trunk hinge). Times are different now and VW has to conserve cash.

MDarringer - 3/14/2017 8:57:43 PM

+1 Boost

VW doesn't seem to understand that they have AUDI to handle premium sedans and crossovers. The Phaeton was sheer arrogance on wheels.