Lowering the Brand Image..

Pacco Rabbane

Rover

They may end up losing their existing customer base. people buy a Merc or a Porsche because it makes them feel special. If cheap Porsche is available then there goes the charm of the Porsche. There are many real life case studies of companies who tried to reach out to mass market segments by starting cheaper product lines and ended up losing even their existing customers..

Let me try and search if I can get some of those examples.

Why only Car companies ...even Airlines are doing away ... with 1st Class....

Nahhh...i just turned blue with envy ;-)

Am I correct in saying that Mercedes make the Smart car.

If so then anyone stupid enough to buy one could claim they are driving a two seater Merc.

Is that what the Panthers did to you too?

Don't worry, soon you'll be onto the top-of-the-range Pink Panther, rather than the lesser brand Blue Panther :-)

I used to drive a Mini Cooper. I called it a Mini.

A friend used to have a Mini Cooper as well. When asked what he drives, To impress people, he used to call it 'a BMW'.

Because it has a BMW made engine.

For the record, he used to call me his friend.

I used to call him a t**t.

The C55 AMG's are stink bombs...they surely do not lower the brand image. C180 maybe yes. The object of the game is to get people to get a taste of the brand with these smaller and obviously lower priced vehicles. They surely do not depreciate the brand besides the middle east is the only market where the S Class/7 Series sells more than the compact/mid size models – so the smaller models are the volume and money maker. Once a person gets into the brand they are hooked and would certainly aspire to own the bigger models. Somewhat like drugs – give a guy a sample and he’ll go for the bigger hit and more importantly pay for it.

I had a 3 series, then another 3 series. No beemer for 2 years and back to a 5 series. Next M :-)

But buying FMCG is private and is not the same as a vehicle which portrays an image of yourself...

Or is it ?

Targeting extra market share and promote free "on roads show".

Small is also beautiful

When we had parle G in small packs or when we have ariel washing powder in small packs or sometimes we have hair shampoos also in small pouches does it make any difference to the brand???

Making thing shorter and lesser price means they want to sell more production and reachable to a particular class which is now biggest upper middle class in the world.That is it..

Yes, these budget versions are alot cheaper, but like Qhris said, it's all about image and the name. You'll end up being the laughing stock anyway because you couldn't afford the more expensive versions like the Q7 or the 7 series.

I'd rather have a car that I can afford than buy one with a name for show.

LOL, I remember that advert, Peugeots rock, I used to have one back in the day :-)

Know what you mean.. Same thing happens with the Renault Laguna..

By the way, do you remember this ??

It's hilarious ..................

Not excatly Brit. the smaller car segment is hot cake. who will not want a cashcow. X1 looks funny lol

Oh Lord, Don't you buy me a Hilman Minx

Even though it can take all Snessy's clothes and the kitchen sink.

I'll take a c-class with plastic dash and dinks

Oh Lord, Don't you buy me a Hilman Minx

It's not about status, but the 'name' says it all.

My parents had a Peugeot 607. If they ever got asked what car, they'd say 'Peugeot' and people would say 'ooh, which one? 206? 306?' etc etc.

They sold it and bought a Porsche Boxster. Which, incidentally, cost less than the Peugeot.

And people never asked 'oh really? Which Porsche?'.

It was just....Porsche.

The Mercedes et als of this world can always go 'down' with their models, but the minute someone like Peugeot releases a top of the range model...they never acquire that 'WOW, YOU DRIVE A PEUGEOT?!' aura.

Which is why 90% of you probably googled 'Peugeot 607' during this post, and not the Boxster :-)

Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?

My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends.

Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends,

So Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?

My bad... Slip of the pen.. Great car, the C Class....

It doesn't, BE.

Look at it this way, the companies have to sell in order to survive. So they bring out "less expensive" versions of the "luxury" items, which the middle class(who I believe is the spending majority)can afford to buy.

It's like "Hey even tho it may be the cheaper version, it's still a Porsche".

What's wrong with the C Class Brit? That was my first Merc. Now the A Class.... I can understand you disrespecting that.

Guys, There are certain class of customers who are so fond of those brands but are unable to go for it due to the unbearable price range. These brands are bringing out low priced models to cater that category of customers and ofcourse the quality will be inferior accordingly. It does not mean that a real porche customer will not buy a porche only because of the reason that they are manufacturing a low priced car.

To a great extent the Car market is saturated... they too got to sell... something

Some people have the itch to drive a Porche or Merc or BMW...but in these times being tight on money, these companies are just giving them affordable options which in turn helps there survival too.

1 or 3 series of BMW ,C class Mercedes and A3/A4 Audi are able to satisfy some people who has the dream to own a luxury car.

True..

But, does a BMW X3 still exude the same image as an X5 ?

Is not the buyer deluding him/herself ?

Bottomline...how much does it cost?

In times of recession, everyone is tightening their belt. People are not willing to pay through their nose for "luxury/quality" items.

Everybody is downshifting these days....

money talks in these tough time. Either swim with the tide or drown in debt.

Most people would say that an entry level Porsche Cayanne is no different from a VW Tourage.

Similary, what purpose does having a three pointed star on an A Class serve ?

I wonder if There'll be a baby Mahindra :O)

Mercedes lost all credibility with the A Class - it's just an embarrasmment..

It's a serious compromise on the brand image and I won't accept it if I was their Marketing Manager but sadly I am not :(

every one want a share of the pie

yes they're killing their own just to increase their sales and those brands lose their "class"

Mini rolls royce and maybackh