Unfortunately, they will also have very little body….

1/ if people have that kind of £ to spend, they want a higher prestige VAG model - would buy an Audi A8 instead of a VW Phaeton (…or a BMW or Mercedes). IMO, it was a really stupid idea to try to market the Phaeton - after all, it was only ever going to cannibalise their target mkt for other prestigious VAG models such as the Audi A8 and A6.

2/There is a BIG difference between perceived brand image of older (aircooled Beetle & Camper van) and modern VW models. I’m not so sure that modern VW owners would consider themselves as purveyors of “hip and cool - in an affordable non-conformist kinda way” - rather, purveyors of perceived affordable German quality and reliability.
Yes; there is still the hip unconformist aspect to VWs - but this only applies to the older aircooled models (Beetle, Camper Van) - which,interestingly, the franchised dealers don’t touch in terms of repairs/have limited parts supplies, mainly because (shock!horror!) the majority of people who own the older models don’t really have the kind of £ to spend (- ie, the older VWs are a relatively cheap entree into the world of classic cars)
What’s also interesting is that there has been a huge resurgance in recent years in the popularity of camper vans (*nb see massive prices they are going for on ebay - eg up to £30k), but again this has more to do with the perceived ‘cool’ lifestyle.

2/Re level of disconnect: IMO, part of the problem is that whilst there is a very strong level of branding and marketing coming from a centralised level (Volkswagen Audi Group) this does not filter down to the activities of franchised dealers whose actions towards their customers and even their marketing activities (ie, on a franchised,more local level) are nowhere near as strong or as compelling. You only have to read through all the different VW and Audi forums to see that there is a level of discontent and this applies not only to the level of service at franchised dealers but also with regards to perceived *less than desirable* aspects about the cars themselves. I really wonder if they ever read these forums……???

I totally agree with you on the Phaeton. The thing is, it’s incredibly hard to change what customers think they know about a brand. If VW customers already think about VW in a certain light, then, for Heaven’s sake, don’t try to change that!

I think that you hit the nail on the head with Lexus. People already have an image of Toyota in their mind’s eye. And that image doesn’t include Luxury. So rather than trying to change the customers ideas about Toyota, they created a new brand. Bingo.

I’m not sure how much the Phaeton has in common with Audi’s A8, but I bet that even if they were astonishingly similar AND a few grand cheaper, the Audi would still outsell the VW by multiples.

Brands have power. Power that can be leveraged either for or against the companies who own them. Smart companies market in alignment with their brand.