The passing of Phaeton

Volkswagen AG will stop producing its flagship Phaeton sedan by the end of March, halting its effort to make inroads into the luxury car segment.

The plant in Dresden, Germany, that assembles the car will be renovated over about a year to produce other models, which Volkswagen has not yet specified.

The Phaeton was introduced in 2002, with its record annual sales standing at merely 11,000 units. China is the model's largest market worldwide. Volkswagen has not said how it will offer after-sales services to current Phaeton owners when the Dresden plant goes through renovation.

The automaker decided in October to redesign the Phaeton as an all-electric car but the new Phaeton version was further delayed "somewhat" last month, Bloomberg reported.

(China Daily 12/28/2015 page19)