07-29-2003, 02:19 AM
Apparemment, il y aurait un modele entre la Passat et Phaeton, pour concurrencer les seie 5 et classe E (et Audi A6 en pasant)
J'ai vraiement du mal avec la strategie VAG...
D'apres Autoweek:
Volkswagen AG plans to fill the gap between the next-generation Passat and the slow-selling Phaeton luxury sedan with a new mid-range premium nameplate.
Referred to as the C1 inside VW, it is expected to compete with the BMW 5 series and the Mercedes-Benz E class starting in 2006.
"We have seen definitive design proposals," says a VW insider familiar with the project. "You will get an impression of it when you see the next-generation Passat in 2004."
The C1 is understood to be based on VW's modular C platform that was developed as part of former CEO Ferdinand Piech's platform strategy in the 1990s. The C platform has never been used.
Sources say a decision has been made to go ahead with the C1 project.
"Three months ago it was still not certain," says a Volkswagen engineer who asks not to be named. "But in our planning, it has been set for 2006, so you may assume that it is definite now."
The volume objective has not been set, but the minimum goal is expected to be 50,000 units.
"Otherwise it would not make sense," the VW engineer says.
Analysts say building a premium nameplate above the Passat is a logical move for VW.
"Although the Passat is successful, the overall Passat segment is going nowhere in Europe," says Colin Couchman, a senior analyst at Global Insight, a research group in London. "So a premium model on one hand and a European size MPV on the other would be sensible additions for VW."
Couchman says a premium sedan would help VW in the North American market and may even have a chance in emerging markets such as China.
"But there is a risk of confusion within the VW group," he adds. "Audi already has its A6."
Sales of both VW's upmarket Passat W8, which sells for about $40,000 in the United States, and the $70,000 Phaeton, introduced last year, have been disappointing.
Volkswagen had planned to sell 10,000 units of its W8-powered Passat annually, but managed just over 5,000 in 2002.
VW sold 2,128 Phaetons during the first six months of 2003.VW once expected to sell 7,000 units of the luxury sedan during 2003, the car's first full year on the market.
The Phaeton debuted in spring 2002 in Europe and will go on sale in the United States this year.
Says Couchman: "Maybe such a premium model (the C1) will eventually succeed the Phaeton, which VW may let die slowly."
J'ai vraiement du mal avec la strategie VAG...
D'apres Autoweek:
Volkswagen AG plans to fill the gap between the next-generation Passat and the slow-selling Phaeton luxury sedan with a new mid-range premium nameplate.
Referred to as the C1 inside VW, it is expected to compete with the BMW 5 series and the Mercedes-Benz E class starting in 2006.
"We have seen definitive design proposals," says a VW insider familiar with the project. "You will get an impression of it when you see the next-generation Passat in 2004."
The C1 is understood to be based on VW's modular C platform that was developed as part of former CEO Ferdinand Piech's platform strategy in the 1990s. The C platform has never been used.
Sources say a decision has been made to go ahead with the C1 project.
"Three months ago it was still not certain," says a Volkswagen engineer who asks not to be named. "But in our planning, it has been set for 2006, so you may assume that it is definite now."
The volume objective has not been set, but the minimum goal is expected to be 50,000 units.
"Otherwise it would not make sense," the VW engineer says.
Analysts say building a premium nameplate above the Passat is a logical move for VW.
"Although the Passat is successful, the overall Passat segment is going nowhere in Europe," says Colin Couchman, a senior analyst at Global Insight, a research group in London. "So a premium model on one hand and a European size MPV on the other would be sensible additions for VW."
Couchman says a premium sedan would help VW in the North American market and may even have a chance in emerging markets such as China.
"But there is a risk of confusion within the VW group," he adds. "Audi already has its A6."
Sales of both VW's upmarket Passat W8, which sells for about $40,000 in the United States, and the $70,000 Phaeton, introduced last year, have been disappointing.
Volkswagen had planned to sell 10,000 units of its W8-powered Passat annually, but managed just over 5,000 in 2002.
VW sold 2,128 Phaetons during the first six months of 2003.VW once expected to sell 7,000 units of the luxury sedan during 2003, the car's first full year on the market.
The Phaeton debuted in spring 2002 in Europe and will go on sale in the United States this year.
Says Couchman: "Maybe such a premium model (the C1) will eventually succeed the Phaeton, which VW may let die slowly."
Aussi vite que possible, aussi lentement que nécessaire...
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