GENEVA - Volkswagen might be having some "struggles" just now, but they have just launched an all new car.

World premiere of a new Volkswagen luxury saloon

Innovative PHIDEON debuts in the premium segment

Newly developed PHIDEON will be launched on the Chinese market in 2016

Design combines sumptuous elegance with impressive dynamics

Ten key facts – the PHIDEON in keywords

1.   The Volkswagen PHIDEON is an all-new high-end saloon in the premium segment in China.

2.   The innovative PHIDEON is positioned above the Passat and the Magotan, which is available in China.

3.   The five metre saloon car is characterised by an extremely elegant yet simultaneously dynamic body design.

4.   With its charismatic front end, the PHIDEON paves the way for the future design of Volkswagen’s top-of-the-range saloons.

5.   The new PHIDEON was developed in Germany with the assistance of VW’s Chinese partner SAIC Volkswagen. It will be launched in China in the third quarter of 2016.

6.   The saloon will be offered with high-efficiency TSI engines (turbocharged petrol engines) and a plug-in hybrid drive is also planned.

7.   In Geneva, Volkswagen will unveil the flagship model in the series: the four-wheel drive PHIDEON 3.0 TSI 4MOTION with 300 PS.

8.   This high-tech PHIDEON is the first Volkswagen to use a camera-based night vision system.

9.   The interior is tailored perfectly to the needs of the driver, with the PHIDEON’s luxurious rear passenger compartment also making it an ideal chauffeur-driven limousine.

10. The PHIDEON is the first Volkswagen to be based on the Modular Longitudinal Matrix (MLB). 

The all-new Volkswagen PHIDEON luxury saloon is making its global debut at the Geneva Motor Show. This innovative and luxurious four-door car is positioned above the Passat and the Magotan, which is available in China, and thus in the premium segment. 

The elegant new five-metre saloon will be launched on the Chinese market in the third quarter of this year. With the debut of the PHIDEON, which was developed and designed in Germany, Volkswagen is adding a crucial pillar to its model range. When designing this car, Volkswagen made use of the technical expertise of its Chinese partner, SAIC Volkswagen. 

Particularly its extensive experience when it comes to the wishes and requirements of customers went into the creation of this premium saloon. SAIC Volkswagen will also manufacture the new model. The PHIDEON also sees the debut of the new “face” of Volkswagen’s luxury saloons. 

Klaus Bischoff, Head of Design Volkswagen Brand: “The new PHIDEON, with its equally powerful and charismatic front end, its flowing and yet precisely drawn lines and the exceedingly dynamic proportions, exudes highest presence and superiority, while the PHIDEON’s progressive design corresponds to the high level of its technical innovations. 

Thus this avant-garde model, designed in Europe for our style-conscious Chinese customers, was born.” Volkswagen’s design team is proud of the fact that it was possible to derive the PHIDEON almost directly from the breath-taking C Coupé GTE concept car, which was presented at Auto Shanghai in 2015, with only minor changes. 

From a technical perspective, the PHIDEON is the first Volkswagen to be based on the Modular Longitudinal Matrix (MLB). Its name – PHIDEON – is a construct standing for elegance and reliability, and phonetically and symbolically evokes Fides, the Roman goddess of fidelity. 

The engines – turbocharged direct injection petrol engine with up to 300 PS

TSI engines. 

The top-of-the-range model – the PHIDEON 3.0 TSI 4MOTION, which comes with four-wheel drive as standard – is powered by a 3.0 litre V6 turbocharged direct injection petrol engine that produces 220 kW/300 PS. 

This efficient TSI develops maximum torque of 440 Nm. The new five-seater from Volkswagen will also be available as a 2.0 TSI (with four-cylinder engines) with front-wheel drive. A model with a plug-in hybrid drive is also planned for the future.

The exterior – a saloon car with the dynamism of a coupé

Sporty proportions. 

The PHIDEON is 5.05 metres long, 1.87 metres wide and 1.48 metres high. Between the extremely short front and rear overhangs for a car of this size is a long wheelbase of over three metres, which give this saloon car particularly sporty proportions. The eye-catching long bonnet gives the car style and lends it sovereign “prestigious dimensions”. 

This design terminology describes the distance between the front door reveal and the centre of the front axle. The greater this distance, the longer the bonnet can be without needing to extend the front overhang. 

This means that a long bonnet combined with a short front overhang results in an especially powerful and elegant premium class design. In combination with the elongated cabin, this results in an inimitably powerful and simultaneously elegant, flowing layout of the PHIDEON.

A new face. 

Apart from the sharp contours of the bonnet, the front is characterised by the wide and comparatively high radiator grille consisting of four chrome bars, with two of the chrome-plated crossbars framing the dual LED headlights integrated in the three-dimensional architecture of the radiator grille; the bold unit consisting of the grille, headlights and LED daytime running lights forms the “face” of the PHIDEON. 

This design DNA will also be found in the brand’s future high-end saloons. The exclusive overall impression of the PHIDEON is rounded off by a wrap-around chrome border, which elegantly finishes the lower section sloping down towards the rear.

An elegant silhouette. 

The side profile is characterised by a character line formed by two lines – a distinctive, razor-sharp drawn-out line over two surfaces, extending from the front wings to the back in the boot lid. This double character line develops into a powerful shoulder. 

The large wheel arches are also defining design traits, reaching far up into the vehicle body and underlining the PHIDEON’s dynamism. Another striking feature: the alloy wheels, derived directly from the C Coupé GTE.

Powerful rear section. 

Like the front end, the design of the rear is also dominated by a horizontal division of the surfaces, accentuating the car’s width. The character lines, which run around the car right up to the boot lid, frame the upper rim of the LED rear lights. A wrap-around chrome strip in the lower body area ends in stainless steel exhaust tailpipes, adding a dynamic visual highlight.

The interior – drive and be driven

Modern ambience. 

The PHIDEON was designed as a sporty five-seater, on the one hand appealing to dedicated self-drivers, while on the other hand being perfectly suited for use as a chauffeur-driven limousine with its generous spaciousness. 

The interior is thus both sporty and elegant. The dashboard and the interior architecture are designed to focus on the technical design and driving dynamics in the cockpit. 

The luxurious seats (in the front and rear passenger compartments) can be electrically adjusted in several directions, including individual settings for the ergonomically curved sides, and have integrated seat ventilation and heating as well as a massage function. 

The design team created a relaxed lounge atmosphere. The atmosphere inside the car is also made more pleasant by a wrap-around ambient light strip that can switch between three different colours.

Convenience and driver assistance systems – high-end technologies

Innovative convenience systems. 

The new PHIDEON offers excellent convenience features. 

For instance, the sports saloon continues the Volkswagen tradition introduced to the top segment with the Phaeton of a chassis equipped with an air suspension system, similar to the systems used by fellow Volkswagen Group brand Bentley. The PHIDEON is equipped with latest generation of this technology, with five individually selectable driving modes. 

Another new feature is the electric soft-closing system for the doors, called “Soft Close”, which harmonises perfectly with the stylish, luxurious and noiseless ambience on board.

MLB assistance systems. 

This new saloon has the full technology spectrum of the Modular Longitudinal Matrix (MLB) at its disposal. When it comes to driving information, this includes features such as a head-up display (which projects information onto the windscreen) and a camera-based night vision system that warns the driver if there are people or animals on or near the road, even in pitch-black darkness or in fog, allowing the driver to react significantly faster. When manoeuvring, Area View – a system with four wide-angle cameras – improves all-round visibility. 

Other assistance systems include ACC (adaptive cruise control), Front Assist (surroundings monitoring system), Park Assist (assisted parking with automatic steering and braking), Lane Assist (camera-based lane-departure warning system), Side Assist (lane-changing assistant), the proactive occupant protection system (which tensions the safety belts and closes the windows or the sunroof) and Light Assist (which automatically dips the high beam). 

These systems protect the occupants of the PHIDEON, while also giving consideration to other road users. Last but not least, the new Volkswagen is characterised by optimum connectivity. 

This is ensured by the latest systems provided by the integrated Modular Infotainment Platform (MIB). CarPlay^™(Apple) and MirrorLink^™(Android) can be used to integrate almost any common smartphone, using various apps to control the infotainment system.

Volvo CEO states that the best is yet to come, and if true, we are in for some great new products.

The pace of change at Volvo Cars will remain undiminished in coming years despite recent success in tripling its operating profit in 2015 to SEK6.6bn, according to Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive.

Mr Samuelsson said he was proud to have reported that Volvo’s operating profit margin increased from 1.6 per cent in 2014 to 4 per cent in 2015, but pointed out that this was around half the level being generated by its competitors in the premium segment.

“Volvo’s transformation is nowhere near complete. The company’s revitalisation has been effective so far, but work remains to be done and we are entirely focused on the future. The next stage in Volvo’s expansion will be even more exciting than the first.”

Volvo is implementing a sweeping USD11bn transformation plan that has involved the development of its own modular vehicle architecture, a new engine range, global manufacturing capability, a completely renewed product range and world leading developments in safety, autonomous driving and connectivity.

But Mr Samuelsson made clear that despite these recent changes, the company retains an ambitious medium term expansion plan that will lead to an increase in sales, improved profitability, enhanced productivity and a position as one of the world’s leading premium car brands.

The following areas, among others, will be in focus in coming years:

Products

The next stage in Volvo’s transformation will be driven by a completely renewed product portfolio.

Larger 90 series and 60 series cars will be built on the Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) architecture. It will also implement a global small car strategy, introducing the quality and technical sophistication that is available on SPA to smaller cars on the Compact Modular Architecture (CMA).

“Our new expanded global range of smaller cars will improve and broaden Volvo’s presence in an important and growing market segment,” said Mr Samuelsson.

Sales

Volvo will continue to reposition its brand to compete with its global rivals, revive sales and operations in the US, continue to grow sales in China, double market share in Europe and overall reach sales of 800,000 cars globally.

“Both sales mix and profitability will improve as we roll out our new products,” said Mr Samuelsson.

Manufacturing

Volvo’s plant in Torslanda, Sweden, will in future make its 90 series top of the range cars as well as next generation 60 series, while its plant in Ghent, Belgium, will become a purely CMA plant for new 40 series cars. A new plant in the US will become operational in 2018 and make 60 series SPA based cars. The plants in China will make cars for domestic use and for export.

“We are developing a global industrial footprint that will mean we will primarily build cars in the regions in which we sell them. This is not only more efficient, but also provides a natural currency hedge,” said Mr Samuelsson.

Profitability

The company’s operating profit margin will double from today’s level and be brought in line with its competitors in the premium segment.

“This year will be another record year in terms of sales and profitability will also improve,” Mr Samuelsson said.

Electrification

Volvo will also position itself as a leading global maker of electrified vehicles, a series of four and three cylinder plug-in twin engine cars, offering world beating combinations of power and low emissions. Every range of cars it sells will have this option. It will also develop a new all-electric car by 2019.

“At least 10 per cent of annual sales will be electrified vehicles in the medium term,” said Mr Samuelsson.

Autonomous Driving

Volvo will start one of the world’s most advanced and ambitious autonomous driving vehicle test in Gothenburg, in 2017, with 100 real customers using AD cars in everyday life, paving the way for us to entrench its position as a global leader in AD technologies.

“We have stated that by 2020 no one should be seriously injured or killed in a new Volvo car. Autonomous driving is one key path to achieving this vision,” said Mr Samuelsson.

Costs

At the same time as revenues and profits are rising at Volvo, the company will retain a relentless focus on costs in order to ensure that it achieves its ambition of increasing its operating margin.

“We will grow, but we will not grow fat,” said Mr Samuelsson. “Improving productivity is always a priority. We have come a long way in the last five years, but we still have a long way to go.”