VW News: Rumorpile: Volkswagen Plans A Premium Midsize Vehicle

[William Maley]

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

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[Drew Dowdell]

uhm... Volkswagen... in case you didn't know.  You do make this already.

 

 

Starting price - $32,685

 

 

Sometimes I wonder if the right front wheel doesn't know what the left rear wheel is doing over at VW.

[G. David Felt]

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.

[regfootball]

Euro Passat is already sort of premium

 

[Drew Dowdell]

It looks so in that pic, but the interior is only a marginal upgrade over the US spec model in materials and design. At best I'd call it "Almost a CC". I wouldn't consider it very premium.

[regfootball]

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.

[Drew Dowdell]

Yeah, but even when you option it up, the door panels and dash plastics don't change. The weight of the tin-can feeling doors doesn't change.

[regfootball]

Vw can't crowd the nicer audis

[regfootball]

And size and price matter more

[Drew Dowdell]

I wonder if this is the predecessor to the Phaeton coming back to the US.  The Genesis must make Wolfsburg seethe with jealously and bitterness. 

[smk4565]

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.

[Drew Dowdell]

Think VW is trying to go for the Avalon crowd?

[smk4565]

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.

[Drew Dowdell]

VW isn't known for making rational decisions for segment entries.

[G. David Felt]

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. 

[Drew Dowdell]

Except they have a huge start in China, which might just keep them out of the gutter. 

[smk4565]

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.

[Cory Wolfe]

Volkswagen does reasonably well elsewhere in the world. For whatever reason, they cannot figure out the U.S. market. 

[regfootball]

their reliability rep in the US hurts.  I know several people that had late 90's early 00's VW and they are forever sworn off VW.  Plus, their stale and stoic Germanesque designs play well to a point but ultimately are not as appealing to the mass markets as the Honda, Ford, Toyota, Chevy set.

[ZL-1]

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.

[Drew Dowdell]

 

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?

[ZL-1]

 

 

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 December 16, 2014 by ZL-1

[smk4565]

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.

[G. David Felt]

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.

[Drew Dowdell]

VW reliability is very dependent on their country of origin. 

[Cory Wolfe]

VW reliability is very dependent on their country of origin. 

 

Indeed. VW is actually known for their reliability in Europe, unlike here. They tend to do well over there; Not Toyota or Honda well, but well nonetheless.