SportCarGroup:
GM Austin:
reginos:
J.Seven:
Porsche made a great financial move with this model, but it´s a desaster regarding exclusivity and brand glamor. They should have left this market segment to Audi and VW.
I share you view that Porsche could have avoided the Macan. However, it's done now.
Hey guys...I would say Porsche "made a great financial move but it´s a desaster regarding exclusivity and brand glamor" since produced the Cayenne, what so different in Macan?? It's just like Cayenne only smaller....
Brand exclusivity and glamor died with Cayenne....and final shot to the head was the Macan.... Not sure about Panamera, but it turned Porsche to look more like VW and Audi as well.
I wish I could agree but I don't.
Let me explain:
Ask a Porsche enthusiast (and non-Cayenne owner) about the Cayenne and he will surely tell you, how bad the Cayenne is for Porsche, how much it dilutes exclusivity and also that this isn't a real Porsche anymore.
Ask ordinary people on the street, and most of them perceive the Porsche Cayenne as a luxury SUV with a pretty good (brand) reputation. The only bad thing people would probably say about the Cayenne is that it is too big, too heavy, eats up too much fuel, isn't environmental friendly and that only rich people or rich soccer moms are driving this car (which, from a luxury brand perception point of view, is good for the Cayenne).
I don't think that the public perception of the Macan will be much different than the one of the Cayenne (many people still think the Cayenne is a rebadged Touareg, developed solely by VW) and this is why I think it won't hurt the Porsche brand itself too much. The Macan will however hurt Cayenne sales because even older Porsche buyers do not buy the bigger Cayenne because they need the room, they buy it because there is nothing smaller from Porsche.
What will hurt the Porsche brand are two things:
1. The 911 got too expensive and resale value went down the drain. Buy a 150k EUR 991 right now and one year later, you can be happy if you sell it for 100k EUR. This may not always be the case but the times of a good resale value have gone. What can Porsche do? They need to offer more options for free, Porsche shouldn't charge for options like heated seats, cruise control, a "basic" sound system like BOSE, PDK or regular metallic paints. Porsche also needs to improve the interior of the 911.
2. The 911 has always been perceived as the sports car. Unfortunately, this perception has been diluted lately by more and more comfort options, turning the 911, in the perception of many, in a "GT". Porsche needs to up their performance game, a 911 should always be at least two steps ahead of the direct competition. Right now, I cannot see this, sorry. At some point, even loyal customers will switch to other products. The competition has never been that big, there are so many sports cars to choose from and they are getting better and better lately. Porsche shouldn't take this lightly, unless they want to sell only Macan and Cayenne in the next decade. I miss the performance edge Porsche products had in the past. I want to be faster than others, not as fast.
Overall, the Macan will change a lot, not only for Porsche but also for dealerships. I just hope it was worth it.
--
RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Turbo S, Porsche Boxster S (981), Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (2014), BMW X3 35d (2013)