Volkswagen to Bring Phaeton Back?

It hasn't been long since the Phaeton was officially withdrawn from

sale in

North America. Analysts pointed to poor sales; however,

according to German auto magazine Auto Bild, Volkswagen is having

second thoughts about the Phaeton.

After

being on sale for six years, the Phaeton's sales are starting to pick

up. In its home market of Germany, over the first three months of the

year the Phaeton sold an impressive 769 units - a whopping 45.4

percentage increase over the previous year. The only other executive

vehicle to increase its sales is Mercedes' S-Class sedan. In fact, over

the same period of time, the Phaeton outsold the BMW 7-Series. Price,

content, and rock-solid build quality are all contributors to the

Phaeton's stronger sales.

And while half of

all Phaetons built have ended up in Germany, it sells strongly in other

markets too, including the UK, Spain, Italy and South Korea, where it

is one of the brand's best-selling cars. Volkswagen would like to see

the Phaeton make a return to one of the most important markets for car

sales, which is right here in the US, with speculation that it could arrive as early as this

coming winter. Whether or not the current generation car arrives, one

thing is fairly certain - a Phaeton will be sold here once again. The

next generation model is scheduled to arrive by 2011.

Incidentally,

Dr. Martin Winterkorn, chairman of Volkswagen AG suggests that the

Phaeton is on a normal development path in the high-end luxury segment,

saying that the first generation BMW 7-Series and Audi A8 didn't catch

on right away either. Hopefully, for the Phaeton's sake, this statement

will also hold true...