The Volkswagen Group has undertaken a massive cost-cutting
program in the wake of its ongoing
diesel emissions scandal, a program CEO Matthias Müller says will lead to
anything not being absolutely necessary either getting canceled or postponed.
A new design center plus a paint shop at a VW plant in
Mexico have already been axed, and a new Phaeton, a vehicle that has
been in the offing for several years already, has been delayed yet again.
Last year VW said a new Phaeton won’t arrive until
2018 or 2019, but we’ve since heard that the vehicle will be delayed even further. It
will now most likely arrive around 2020.
There are no plans to drop the car, however, as VW sees
the Phaeton as crucial for the Asian market, particularly China where the large
sedan segment is still one of the most popular. But rather than launch a
conventional model, VW now says the new Phaeton will be offered exclusively as an
electric car.
To help reduce costs, Autocar reports
the new Phaeton will borrow components from Audi’s Q6 e-tron, including the
car’s MLB Evo platform. The Q6 e-tron is an electric crossover due in 2018 and
previewed recently by the e-tron
quattro concept.
We’ve also heard that VW is considering closing its bespoke
Transparent Factory located in Dresden, Germany, which is responsible for the
current Phaeton (the car is still on sale outside the United States). With the
plant closed, VW would likely end up moving Phaeton production to a plant
building other MLB Evo-based models.
Following the diesel scandal, VW is looking to clean up its
image by focusing
on vehicle electrification. The automaker is actually increasing to the
tune of 100 million euros (approximately $106 million) its investment in
vehicle electrification in the coming year, and this commitment to the
technology will be further reinforced by the VW brand’s flagship being electric
only.
source: http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1101115_new-vw-phaeton-to-be-electric-only-share-tech-with-audi-q6-e-tron-report
by Viknesh Vijayenthiran
http://www.boscheuropean.com
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