VW Phaeton - Did Zeus' anger hit sales of Volkswagen's luxury car

Did Zeus' anger hit sales of Volkswagen's luxury car

Business & Finance, Marketing & Sales
Cover of the book VW Phaeton - Did Zeus' anger hit sales of Volkswagen's luxury car by Sven Röhm, GRIN Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Sven Röhm ISBN: 9783638273442
Publisher: GRIN Publishing Publication: May 3, 2004
Imprint: GRIN Publishing Language: English
Author: Sven Röhm
ISBN: 9783638273442
Publisher: GRIN Publishing
Publication: May 3, 2004
Imprint: GRIN Publishing
Language: English

Essay from the year 2003 in the subject Business economics - Marketing, Corporate Communication, CRM, Market Research, Social Media, grade: 74% (A) entspricht 1,0, University of Teesside (Tesside Business School), course: Managing Markets, language: English, abstract: After the introduction of the first Volkswagen luxury car in May 2002, sales are still far behind the Volkswagen's expectation (Handelsblatt, 2003). It seems that the VW Phaeton faces the same destiny as its antique namesake Phaeton. In the Greek mythology, Phaeton was the son of Helios, the sun god. Helios has driven the family chariot across the sky, wearing the rays of the sun as a crown, lighting the day. One day Phaeton convinced his father to lend him the beautiful chariot. But Phaeton, in contrast to his father, was not able to drive the chariot appropriately, and drove the chariot so close to the earth that he boiled the oceans and scorched the land. So Zeus had to stop him by killing him with a lightning bolt (Vaughn, 2003). Volkswagen certainly had not considered this explanation when naming the Phaeton, but referred more likely to the second meaning of Phaeton; an elegant carriage of the 17th century which the owners drove on their own. Nevertheless, there are signs that the Volkswagen engagement in the high-class (luxury) car market is tougher than expected. It seems people are less persuadable to buy a high-quality car of the experienced and renowned German car manufacturer. This shows the divergence of the formerly targeted 12.000 to 15.000 units (Weernink, 2001) annually in global sales 2003 which is opposed by the actual numbers of only 2.600 units in Germany - the main market of the Phaeton - from January to October (Kraftfahrtbundesamt KBA) and estimated sales of 3500 units worldwide (Handelsblatt, 2003). The targeted sales of 20.000 units in 2004 (Weernink, 2003) seem to be completely unrealistic. But the Volkswagen top-management remained silent. Although Volkswagen always claims that the Phaeton's technology, specifications and passenger protection is absolutely comparable with the competing Mercedes S-Class, BMW 7 and Audi A8, customers seem to spot a big disadvantage of the VW Phaeton - the lack of perception and the missing customer benefit of expressing the driver's status.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Essay from the year 2003 in the subject Business economics - Marketing, Corporate Communication, CRM, Market Research, Social Media, grade: 74% (A) entspricht 1,0, University of Teesside (Tesside Business School), course: Managing Markets, language: English, abstract: After the introduction of the first Volkswagen luxury car in May 2002, sales are still far behind the Volkswagen's expectation (Handelsblatt, 2003). It seems that the VW Phaeton faces the same destiny as its antique namesake Phaeton. In the Greek mythology, Phaeton was the son of Helios, the sun god. Helios has driven the family chariot across the sky, wearing the rays of the sun as a crown, lighting the day. One day Phaeton convinced his father to lend him the beautiful chariot. But Phaeton, in contrast to his father, was not able to drive the chariot appropriately, and drove the chariot so close to the earth that he boiled the oceans and scorched the land. So Zeus had to stop him by killing him with a lightning bolt (Vaughn, 2003). Volkswagen certainly had not considered this explanation when naming the Phaeton, but referred more likely to the second meaning of Phaeton; an elegant carriage of the 17th century which the owners drove on their own. Nevertheless, there are signs that the Volkswagen engagement in the high-class (luxury) car market is tougher than expected. It seems people are less persuadable to buy a high-quality car of the experienced and renowned German car manufacturer. This shows the divergence of the formerly targeted 12.000 to 15.000 units (Weernink, 2001) annually in global sales 2003 which is opposed by the actual numbers of only 2.600 units in Germany - the main market of the Phaeton - from January to October (Kraftfahrtbundesamt KBA) and estimated sales of 3500 units worldwide (Handelsblatt, 2003). The targeted sales of 20.000 units in 2004 (Weernink, 2003) seem to be completely unrealistic. But the Volkswagen top-management remained silent. Although Volkswagen always claims that the Phaeton's technology, specifications and passenger protection is absolutely comparable with the competing Mercedes S-Class, BMW 7 and Audi A8, customers seem to spot a big disadvantage of the VW Phaeton - the lack of perception and the missing customer benefit of expressing the driver's status.

More books from GRIN Publishing

Cover of the book Divided Inheritance by Sven Röhm
Cover of the book Does the USA represent an empire in international relations? by Sven Röhm
Cover of the book The poetry of John Donne by Sven Röhm
Cover of the book Judaism in Germany by Sven Röhm
Cover of the book Adopting a Strategic Approach within Retail Organisations by Sven Röhm
Cover of the book Hemingway and Stein. Gertrude Stein's Influence on Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls by Sven Röhm
Cover of the book The Representation of 'Young' People in the Social and Family Contexts Created by Shakespeare in 'Romeo and Juliet' and 'Hamlet' by Sven Röhm
Cover of the book Mt. Fuji - religion and tourism by Sven Röhm
Cover of the book Zur Entwicklung der Berufpädagogik im Nationalsozialismus by Sven Röhm
Cover of the book A rise of the Ephorate and a decline of the kingship? by Sven Röhm
Cover of the book An Analysis of William Blake´s 'The Marriage of Heaven and Hell' by Sven Röhm
Cover of the book Elements of magical realism in Zakes Mda's novel She plays with the darkness by Sven Röhm
Cover of the book Applied Marketing Strategy - The Rocker Hotel Sunderland by Sven Röhm
Cover of the book Should the death penalty be banned as a form of punishment? by Sven Röhm
Cover of the book Wuthering Heights - A Speaking Activity in the English Literary Classroom by Sven Röhm
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy