Volkswagen Phaeton Goes Out of Production

The Phaeton was one of the more ambitious projects that Volkswagen ever took up in modern times and was the company's foray into the premium space as a brand. However, after a fourteen year struggle, the time has come to pull the plug off the ailing luxury sedan as the last Phaeton finally rolled off the production line at the automaker's Transparent facility in Dresden, Germany. The last model to be produced was a black Phaeton powered by a 4.2-litre V8 petrol engine with 4MOTION good to belt out 335hp of power.

Volkswagen Dresden Facility, Germany

While the Phaeton may have not created the ripples that Volkswagen hoped for, the luxury sedan was in all its might an interesting and challenging project for the company. First introduced in 2002, the luxury four-door sedan was the brainchild of then Volkswagen Group Chairman Ferdinand Piech and was developed to run at speeds of 300 km/h for an entire day with an external temperature of 50-degrees Celsius, while maintaining a cabin temperature of 22-degrees Celsius. The Phaeton was based on the Volkswagen D1 platform, shared with the Bentley Continental GT, whereas some engine options came from the Audi A8. However, unlike the sport inclined A8, the Phaeton was designed to be completely luxurious.

The decision to end Phaeton's production also means the Transparent facility in Dresden will see major re-shuffling of operations. Fortunately, Volkswagen will not be laying off any of its 400 odd employees currently working at the plant. While some employees will be shifted to new roles at the same facility, the others have been reassigned to work at the automaker's Zwickau plant or other VW Group locations. As for production taking place at the Transparent plant, the company's Board of Management and General Works Council wants to continue with it, but won't be happening in the foreseeable future.

Volkswagen Drivers Assistance Globe

Meanwhile, Volkswagen plans to use the Dresden plant to showcase the company's electro-mobility and digitalisation efforts. Starting from April 8, visitors will get a chance to experience the future of mobility at the plant with interactive exhibits and has some very interesting displays including the Drivers-Assistance-Globe and the e-Carreratrack.

As for the fate of the Phaeton brand, Volkswagen has hinted towards the second generation model being an all-electric model that will once again start production at the Transparent Factory. However, the new generation Phaeton is only expected to see the light of the day by the end of the decade.