Volkswagen Phaeton to be phased out of production

Volkswagen has announced that it will be ending operations at its Dresdan plant in Germany. With that, the automaker will also be ending the production of its Volkswagen Phaeton, given that the facility is the only place that produces the luxury sedan.

With sales in the US and the UK plunging in the aftermath of its dieselgate saga, Volkswagen has since suggested that it would limit model variants in an attempt to save money. It was also reported that the company may have to go as far as to sell several brands it owns, like Lamborghini and Bentley, in an attempt to finance the troubling situation.

Primed for competition against the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and BMW 7 Series, the Phaeton never quite reached market success in its 14-year production run. One of the reasons for this is said to be that VW’s luxury sedan has typically been more expensive than its key competitors.

The Dresdan facility is also Volkswagen’s smallest production plant in Germany. A total of 500 employees work there, 300 of which are dedicated to the production of the Phaeton. Fortunately, it is said that all staff will keep their jobs after being relocated to the car maker’s Zwickau plant.

Despite the Phaeton’s current production run coming to an end, a replacement model for it has been rumoured in the past to arrive by year 2020. In Malaysia, the Phaeton was previously sold at a price of RM639k, after a special discount. Displayed at the F.A Wagen dealership in 2014, its original price was RM838,888.

The Phaeton that was available here featured a 4.2 litre non-FSI V8 engine that produces 335 PS at 6,500 rpm and 430 Nm of torque at 3,500 rpm, taking the luxury car from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.9 seconds. One model specifically belongs to Volkswagen Group Malaysia, chauffeuring its current managing director, Armin Keller.

GALLERY: Volkswagen Phaeton in Malaysia

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