Volkswagen’s Phaeton has long been pegged as the answer to a question nobody asked. The car cost as much as its luxury brand rivals but came with a humble VW badge, mundane styling, plus poorer dynamics and a much heavier chassis than its Audi A8 cousin. However, none of this hasn’t stopped execs from VW establishing plans for a successor.

New reports from Germany reveal that VW could be losing as much as €10,000 on each Phaeton it sells and that there could be a delay in the development of the second-gen model. Officials have told AFX reporters that everything is on schedule but were unwilling to give a concrete date for the car’s debut.

Latest reports suggest production for the new model will start in late 2010 with the first customer cars set to go on sale early the following year. However, the source revealed that no decision had been made on whether to use the larger A8/Bentley platform or move to the smaller A6 architecture. The only confirmation so far is that the new car will be built at the unique glass factory at Dresden where the current model is built.