While the price for the first-generation Volkswagen Phaeton stretched to over $100,000, the redesigned sedan could re-enter the U.S. market with a sticker price that might interest a shopper considering a fully loaded Chrysler 300 or Ford Taurus SHO.

Volkswagen is in the process of determining "what will we need to compete for those type of customers," Kevin Joostema told Edmunds. Joostema is Volkswagen of America's general manager for product planning.

In comparison, the 2014 Chrysler 300C John Varvatos Limited Edition with all-wheel drive starts at $48,175. A 2014 Ford Taurus SHO starts at $40,805.

The Phaeton is Volkswagen's luxury sedan, a hand-built car that was priced alongside some BMW, Mercedes-Benz and even Volkswagen's Group's Audi models. While sales continue in Europe, the Phaeton had a short three-year run in the United States, ending in 2006.

Simply, U.S. buyers weren't ready to spend luxury-car prices for a sedan that was marketed by a brand synonymous with such mass-market cars as the Golf, New Beetle and Jetta.

Joostema would not confirm that the final decision has been made to re-enter the U.S. market with the redesigned Phaeton. He was interviewed at a Volkswagen press event here. However, industry sources expect U.S. sales to begin later this decade.

The Phaeton will be the largest sedan marketed by the Volkswagen brand and is expected to share either a modified Audi A8 or A6 vehicle platform. A wide range of engines is expected, including hybrid, plug-in hybrid and diesel.

The largest sedan sold by Volkswagen in the U.S. currently is the 2014 Volkswagen CC, which starts at $32,660.

"There are a lot of opportunities" for the Phaeton, Joostema said. "It would be like it was last time, a new place for the Volkswagen brand."

However, he said Audi has some models that compete in the area Volkswagen is eyeing. Pricing relative to Audi's models is another issue "so those are some of the things that have to be planned out, strategized."

Volkswagen is working on a new generation of its Phaeton flagship sedan, and it’s to be sold in the U.S. market once again. However, the German auto giant isn’t rushing things so it’ll still be several years until we see the car. The last we heard, the new Phaeton will arrive in time for the 2018 or 2019 model year, meaning a reveal is unlikely to take place before the 2017 calendar year.

That must seem like an eternity for anyone waiting for a new Phaeton—the car hasn’t been sold here since 2006—but to tide things over we have some new details to divulge. According to Automotive News’ (subscription required) sources, the new Phaeton will be offered with high-performance powertrains combining turbocharging, hybrid and direct-injection technologies.

A plug-in hybrid version combining a V-6 gasoline engine and electric drive system is said to offer more than 400 horsepower. This is said to be followed by a V-8 diesel engine good for about 450 horsepower, and topping the range is said to be a W-12 engine. It’s not clear which of these powertrains will be offered for the U.S. market, but it’s unlikely we’ll see a 12-cylinder engine offered locally.

Unfortunately, all of this performance will come at a cost. The expected starting price for the new Phaeton is around $70,000. That may seem steep but don’t forget that Kia’s K900 in V-8 trim is priced from $60k and the Equus from sister brand Hyundai starts a few grand above that figure.

The platform for the car will be a version of the VW Group’s new MLB Evo, which debuts in the 2016 Audi Q7 and will eventually underpin next-generation versions of the A4, A6 and A8 Audi sedans. Drive will be to the front wheels only in standard form but versions in the U.S. should feature all-wheel drive as standard.

Before the arrival of any new Phaeton, VW will be introducing a major update for its Passat sold in the U.S. Expect this update to be introduced for the 2016 model year. Also, an updated version of the Touareg is being introduced for the 2015 model year.

VW has announced that it will halt production of the Volkswagen Phaeton -- the car everyone thought VW stopped making long ago -- at its state-of-the-art factory in Dresden next year, Reuters reports. The move comes amid a significant reassessment of the automaker's model strategy as well as an effort to cut costs in anticipation of expenditures related to the recall of diesel models in Europe and North America.

Production of the Phaeton, which has been on sale since 2002 and has received a number of updates since, will stop in March of next year. In recent months, production of the luxury sedan has fallen to just under 10 cars per day as demand has slowed, even though the model has achieved a limited but steady following in China. The Dresden factory will then spend approximately a year gearing up for production of the next-generation Phaeton, which is expected to debut in 2019.

The first-generation model was a pet project of former VW chairman Ferdinand Piech who championed the no-expense-spared flagship sedan for the brand, which required a $1.1 billion investment at the time -- a significant sum for what was viewed even then as a niche model. Even though Piech retired from the management board in 2002, the Phaeton stayed in production without major changes all the way into the present day, and VW still offers the sedan in a number of markets.

In response to the diesel emissions crisis, the VW board has announced a radical shift in its approach to diesel engines, at least for the U.S. and Europe. The VW board met early this week and has ...
Demand for the Phaeton in Asia has kept the sales volume at an acceptable rate, by most accounts, though the luxury flagship was never seen as a money-making model in VW's lineup even at the peak of its sales, when it (predictably) competed with VW AG's own Audi A8 sedan.

A production halt for the first-generation model has been long-forecast, with the pressures of the diesel crisis injecting uncertainty into its successor, which VW has announced will be an electric car. The next-generation Phaeton was reportedly delayed due to the high projected costs of production, with VW pushing its debut back to figure out a cheaper way to produce it.

To mark the Phaeton's 20th anniversary, Volkswagen is taking us by surprise by releasing images of what was supposed to be its direct successor. It never happened, mainly because the electrification push in the wake of the messy Dieselgate prompted the higher-ups to change the company's priorities and go all-in on EVs. Consequently, the fullsize luxury sedan was left on the cutting room floor to focus on what was to become the MEB platform.

The peeps from Wolfsburg are now reminiscing about how the second-generation Phaeton was actually quite close to hitting the assembly line. Shown here is a fully running one-off prototype you could easily believe it's a production car. The stately saloon adopted VW's typically restrained design with a chrome grille flanked by headlights similar to those of the current Touareg.

The dashboard should look familiar since it's largely the same one used in the current Touareg with its so-called Innovision Cockpit. A closer look at the lower center console shows a similar placement of the gear lever, cup holders, and switchgear. The frameless rearview mirror, leather-wrapped dashboard, and metallic accents added sophistication to the Phaeton’s cabin but without looking as fancy as an Audi A8's interior.

At the back, the taillights are sending out a Skoda Superb vibe, which isn't all that surprising since the aborted Phaeton was designed by Jozef Kabaň who penned the Czech range topper. The wide chrome bar creates a visual connection between the taillights in the same vein as on the facelifted Superb. Generous exhaust finishers similar to those of the Arteon are connected to a dual exhaust setup hinting at a potent powertrain.

Long doors provide access to a posh cabin with ample legroom in the back where individual seats are separated by a wide center console. The latter hosts a detachable tablet as well as the switches for seat adjustments. VW generously used wood and leather throughout the interior along with fitting a dual-pane sunroof and a rear-seat entertainment system.

Much like the Touareg on sale today, the car was supposed to ride on the MLB Evo platform that has underpinned the A8 as well as other big VAG models. It's worth noting the core VW brand does have a large sedan riding on this architecture as the China-only Phideon is considered to be the Phaeton's spiritual successor.

Now that VW has decided to show the Phaeton that never was, perhaps it's time for Jaguar to do the same with its aborted XJ?