RC:
I

To their defense, I have to say that they are facing a very challenging market in Germany (and maybe other parts of Europe), where SUVs aren't really very popular with "ordinary" people. Smiley Too much styling could cause too much attention, thus the risk of outrage and/or damage. Sad but true. This is probably the reason why they are going to offer the "Coupe" version, for those who are OK with attracting more attention. Smiley

I think the Macan has a huge success because of it's styling. 

 

There is a much bigger world outside of Germany and it is more fashion conscious so that should be a major consideration for them. Enough tasteless and blingy cars are produced by Mercedes alone to suggest that German auto manufacturers are hardly shrinking violets in that regard Smiley

I'd strongly argue that the Macan is selling extremely well due to attractive lease offers and modern consumers desire to own a brand that projects an image of them doing well in life. You only have to look at the Macan owners forum to see where the sales are coming from Smiley I've had interesting chats with a few dealers here whilst looking for a Cayman (which, co-incidentally, there appear to be considerable numbers of here that are unsold dealer stock which the factory appear to have allocated to the UK market). The profile of their customer base has changed considerably following the launch of the Macan with buyers who are more interested in the brand than the engineering. They just equate Porsche to being a luxury brand that is above whatever cars their friends/neighbours etc drive. They are also generally far more demanding in terms of time and attention than buyers of the more expensive sports cars.

The other "prestige" German manufacturers have blown the prestige aspect of their brand completely apart in certain markets such as the UK where they have taken over as almost mass market suppliers thanks to suicidal PCP/PCH lease rates. I have a friend who is quite senior in M B UK and he is certain they are sitting upon a ticking bomb in terms of collapsing residual values due to over supply.