VW beancounters halt launch of luxury sedan to boost profit margin - Motoring

The all-new replacement for the Volkswagen Phaeton limousine has reportedly been delayed to lower production costs and boost profits from the German giant's slow-selling flagship sedan. It’s not known how long the Phaeton, which was originally set to go on sale early next year, has been delayed by but the report states the VW limo will not go on sale until material costs are reduced and production efficiencies introduced at the... It’s unclear how much money Volkswagen currently makes (or loses) on every Phaeton it sells, but it’s believed that internal targets are focusing on introducing a six per cent margin on the all-new luxury sedan that, incidentally, costs three... Last year Volkswagen sold just 4000 Phaetons globally -- 30 per cent less than in 2013. Mercedes, meanwhile, sold 100,000 S-Class sedans. The next-generation Volkswagen Phaeton will come with an all-new plug-in hybrid powertrain that could see the VW limo produce as much as 300kW but average just 1. 5L/100km and emit less than 50g/km of CO2. To reduce costs the new Phaeton will also... Source: www.motoring.com.au