When I initially heard that VW was going to make a run at the luxury car space as VW, I thought they were crazy, but they apparently wanted to show the world, “just how good a car they can make.” If I find some time, I’ll track that quote down… it was in Fortune or Forbes as I recall.
The Phaeton might be a really nice car, but it’s competing as VW against family member Audi, not too mention Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, Infiniti etc etc… They start at about 65,ooo and go upwards to 100K for the W12. Not exactly an easy market to try and shift up to…
It would be and has been much easier for companies like BMW and Mercedes to come through with solid entry level cars targeting the lower price points and this makes obvious sense as the premium brand is now more attainable… No one was looking to pay more for a less-premium brand.
Volkswagen has sold a mere 939 Phaetons in the first seven months of the large luxury sedan’s U.S. lifespan, and in order to get that number up over the millennium mark, they%u2019ve engineered a lease deal of $699 per month with a $5500 down payment. A 48-hour test drive is also available for the V8-engined, “Cabundantly equipped” flagship, but prospective customers are saying that if the Phaeton isn’t “abundantly equipped” with propellor or tristar badges, they aren’t buying it. [Autoblog]