Volkswagen announced that the second-gen Phaeton would be delayed because of massive investment cuts required to address the ongoing Dieselgate.
Volkswagen announced that the second-gen Phaeton would be delayed because of massive investment cuts required to address the ongoing Dieselgate.
Volkswagen had been talking about the all electric Phaeton a month ago and its “emotional” design, but they now say that the flagship model will be delayed. It’s not surprising, considering CEO Matthias Muller stated that the Phaeton was a necessity for Asian markets. This indicates that it will not be put on the back burner. VAG stated that they will postpone or cancel projects that aren’t absolutely necessary. The Phaeton was originally not on the list.
This is part of a larger plan to reduce spending on property, equipment, and plant to EUR12 billion. That’s about EUR1 billion less than originally planned. Volkswagen will save EUR100 million by not building a new Wolfsburg design center, while the decision about the Mexican paint shop is still pending.
VW continues to say that most of the money saved for next year will be used to invest in new products such as the next-gen Golf, Q5, or Crafter. A large portion of the funds will also be invested in the modular electric toolkit (MEB), which will allow the company to focus on hybrids and EVs.
Although it is difficult to predict when the new Phaeton might go on sale, most likely it will be around the end the decade.