Jump to content
Create New...

VW News: Rumorpile: Volkswagen Plans A Premium Midsize Vehicle


William Maley

Recommended Posts

It seems Volkswagen has entered the megalomaniac stage. According to German publication Autobild, Volkswagen is planning a new premium midsize model to take on the likes of the BMW 5-Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

This new model is expected to come in the form hatchback sedan (think Audi A7) and a station wagon. The U.S. and China will get the sedan only, while everywhere else will have both options. As for what will underpin the new model, Volkswagen is debating whether to use its own MQB architecture or use Audi's MLB platform. Power will come from a range of four and six-cylinder diesel and gas engines.

This new model is expected to go on sale towards the end of this decade.

Source: Autobild


View full article

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello VW, You are the Chevy of Germany and NO luxury is not VW. Better to focus on quality right now and decent marketing to get a solid message and reputation than try to build a VW badge luxury auto and fail again. 

 

People perception around the world of VW must be very different than her in the US. Ask people and VW shows no where on the Luxury perception list.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thing is, the previous Passat sold like crap. When VW made the current one mammoth sized and with a lesser interior, their sales went up huge in comparison. VW wants volume.

Current passat is one of those cars when optioned up it is pretty nice inside. A base trim with black interior and the nasty cloth is pretty bad. Current Malibu is sort of like that. Most of the LT models have the terrible black cloth etc. get an LTZ with the light leather and tan plastics and it's a big difference.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

VW already makes the Audi A6 to take on the E-class and 5-series.  And with how similar VWs and Audis look, a VW based on the A6 would look like an A6, but have to sell at a $10,000 discount, which is neither good for Audi or VW.  The Phaeton will fail again if it comes back, no one wants a luxury VW when they can buy an Audi and at least have a trendy badge.  VW needs to focus on the Jetta and Passat and selling a mid-size crossover that isn't $50k like the Toureg is.

  • Agree 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Think VW is trying to go for the Avalon crowd?

That crowd will be dead by the time they get a car in that segment.  Taurus and Maxima sales are terrible, even the Avalon and Impala combined sell about 15,000 cars a month, how much can vW get in that segment, 2,000 cars a month maybe?  And that could decline.

  • Agree 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think VW will be the next car company to have to reorg or declare bankruptcy. Too many idiot mistakes as they have grown huge with way too much Legacy manufacturing capacity and union contracts that I cannot see them being able to honor. Reminds me of the stupidity that the US auto companies have done in the past. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

VW has profit centers like Lamborghini, Bentley and Porsche. Low volume but those cars have $20,000+ profit per unit, Audi runs at a 10% net margin too. VW brand just has to break even.

Instead of these new entrants they should just buy Fiat-Chrysler and reorganize the whole thing cutting overlap, then they would have every segment imaginable covered.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think VW will be the next car company to have to reorg or declare bankruptcy. Too many idiot mistakes as they have grown huge with way too much Legacy manufacturing capacity and union contracts that I cannot see them being able to honor. Reminds me of the stupidity that the US auto companies have done in the past. 

Nope, don't think so. VW, unlike GM, has had the ability to decently manage a bunch of very different brands by not building carbon coies of each other wearing different badges.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I think VW will be the next car company to have to reorg or declare bankruptcy. Too many idiot mistakes as they have grown huge with way too much Legacy manufacturing capacity and union contracts that I cannot see them being able to honor. Reminds me of the stupidity that the US auto companies have done in the past. 

Nope, don't think so. VW, unlike GM, has had the ability to decently manage a bunch of very different brands by not building carbon coies of each other wearing different badges.

 

 

How well are Skoda and SEAT doing these days really?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

I think VW will be the next car company to have to reorg or declare bankruptcy. Too many idiot mistakes as they have grown huge with way too much Legacy manufacturing capacity and union contracts that I cannot see them being able to honor. Reminds me of the stupidity that the US auto companies have done in the past. 

Nope, don't think so. VW, unlike GM, has had the ability to decently manage a bunch of very different brands by not building carbon coies of each other wearing different badges.

 

 

How well are Skoda and SEAT doing these days really?

 

I believe Skoda does well; SEAT not really that well... SEAT's the only brand in their portfolio they couldn't carve a space for so far.

Edited by ZL-1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Reliability does hurt VW here, maybe in Europe they get away with it because they have a lot of 50-60 mpg diesels and there might just not be enough competitors in the small car space, other than Fiat who has worse reliability and Hyundai/Kia/Honda aren't powerhouses in Europe, so it leaves Ford to compete with.   Skoda and Seat seems like overlap though with the lower end of VW.  VW at least keeps their luxury brands unique.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yet with the Depression in Europe and an over capacity of production, something has to give and I think VW is going to finally cut names and products as it closes un-needed capacity. That plus their terrible reliability will end up hurting them eventually. I still think VW is at their glory days now and will go down hill.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...

Hey there, we noticed you're using an ad-blocker. We're a small site that is supported by ads or subscriptions. We rely on these to pay for server costs and vehicle reviews.  Please consider whitelisting us in your ad-blocker, or if you really like what you see, you can pick up one of our subscriptions for just $1.75 a month or $15 a year. It may not seem like a lot, but it goes a long way to help support real, honest content, that isn't generated by an AI bot.

See you out there.

Drew
Editor-in-Chief

Write what you are looking for and press enter or click the search icon to begin your search