Phaeton body Volkswagen introduced a vehicle with the name Phaeton, which has a typical four-door sedan body style. Phaeton body A phaeton is a style of open automobile without any fixed weather protection, which was popular from the 1900s until the 1930s. It is an automotive equivalent of the horse-drawn fast, lightweight phaeton carriage. A popular style in the USA from the mid–1920s and continuing into the first half of the 1930s was the dual cowl phaeton, with a cowl separating the rear passengers from the driver and front passenger. Phaetons fell from favour when closed cars and convertible body styles became
Volkswagen Phaeton be produced. Starting in April 2017, the "Gläserne Manufaktur" Dresden assembles VW e-Golf instead. The Phaeton was conceived by Ferdinand Piëch, then chairman of Volkswagen Group. Piëch wanted Volkswagen engineers to create a car that would surpass the German prestige market leaders, Mercedes-Benz and BMW. The decision to release the Phaeton was, in part, a response to Mercedes' decision to compete directly with Volkswagen in the European marketplace with the low cost A-Class. It was also intended to support the Volkswagen brand image. Although the Volkswagen Group already has a direct competitor in the full sized luxury segment, the Audi