Have BMW devalued their brand?

Gepetto · 18 Feb 2014 at 13:37

I used to view BMW as a prestigious brand, and loosely bundled them together with Audi and Mercedes, as being pretty much the upper end of the mainstream car market.

Following on from Audi in particular, BMW now seem to have a car for everyone, and their range is now so broad, that I, for one, would now have some difficulty in choosing.

In their endeavour to provide a car for every niche, which is, after all, any car manufacturer's dream, have they diluted the prestige of the marque?

Edit: Devalued! Doh!

Westyfield2 · 18 Feb 2014 at 13:41

Saw a Chavvy kid at Uni today driving a 118d SE

.

4T5 · 18 Feb 2014 at 13:42

BMW haven't devalued there cars the people that are buying them & using them have.

Lashout_UK · 18 Feb 2014 at 13:50

I don't like what they're doing with their model ranges and designations, that's for sure. Really rubs me the wrong way, for some reason.

Gepetto · 18 Feb 2014 at 13:51

4T5 said:
BMW haven't devalued their cars, the people that are buying them & using them have.

That possibly goes hand in hand with flooding the market?

Uriel · 18 Feb 2014 at 13:52

I'd say Audi are the worst of the three for brand devaluation, because of the platform and component sharing with the rest of VAG.

EdwardTeach · 18 Feb 2014 at 13:54

I would be put off buying one for pretty much that reason, everyone has them. When I dropping my daughter at her ballet class today, there was a mum with an m3.

Crimefighter · 18 Feb 2014 at 14:03

I read an interesting article on this once, with specific reference to BMW.

It stated that both BMW and Mercedes sometime in the late 1990s/early2000s decided that Apple demonstrated premium brands were not significantly compromised by their products being sold in large volume to a wide audience.

As such, they built and priced vehicles for mainstream users in the belief that it would not compromise brand perception.

Whether or not they have succeed would be innately subjective. The financial aspects cannot be ignored however, considering BMW is now a business powerhouse compared to what uit used to be.

Ill try and find the article on the web, it was a good one.

As an aside, it doesn't seem to work for budget brands attempting to sell premium products- hence the Toyota/Lexus brand separation, and resale values for cars like the VW Phaeton.

p1RATE · 18 Feb 2014 at 14:14

Uriel said:
I'd say Audi are the worst of the three for brand devaluation, because of the platform and component sharing with the rest of VAG.

Couldn't agree more. Although i think a nice new audi does look very smart i generally don't think of them as a prestigious brand.

Vanilla · 18 Feb 2014 at 14:26

I was reading something similar on pistonheads.

I think they have devalued their M brand by placing it on cars that share some M parts rather than are M cars. M135i for example.

M has almost become a trim level on anything not an M3/M5/M6, etc.

Gepetto · 18 Feb 2014 at 14:31

Crimefighter said:
As such, they built and priced vehicles for mainstream users in the belief that it would not compromise brand perception.

Whether or not they have succeed would be innately subjective. The financial aspects cannot be ignored however, considering BMW is now a business powerhouse compared to what it used to be.

That really sums it up for me, as it is demonstrably sound management, and whether it has (or has not) impacted on brand perception might be a moot point, due to the success, but, it has certainly affected my perception.

Interesting that you mention VW and Toyota (Lexus) in the same post, simply from the point that I had not considered them as comparable to BMW even a few years ago, whereas now I'm more inclined to do so.

rare · 18 Feb 2014 at 14:34

If anything it is still as desirable as it has ever been? If not more so, since it is now more easily attainable, which heightens its desirability.

In which case, no, they have if anything, increased brand value, since it is (difficult to rate) just as valued by the consumer as it ever was. BMW has never really pretended to be anything other than a mass market product, it's just that they have always been so very clever with their advertising.

Scania · 18 Feb 2014 at 14:35

Vanilla said:
I was reading something similar on pistonheads.

I think they have devalued their M brand by placing it on cars that share some M parts rather than are M cars. M135i for example.

M has almost become a trim level on anything not an M3/M5/M6, etc.

They are aiming at buyers looking for the "Ultimate driving machine look" as such, not particularly drivers who are after the "Ultimate driving machine experience" 118d M Sport springs to mind...

M cars themselves, have always been about the wolf in Sheeps clothing, the current M5 especially IMO, bar the Badge it looks ,to most,no different than a 520d which with the M5 was initially the whole point, seems to be back to this trend with the M5 at least....

I see Mercedes and BMW still very much as a premium brand, Audi seem to have become posh VW's and I frankly - rightly or wrongly - still view Lexus merely as a posh Toyota....

Uncle_Gravy · 18 Feb 2014 at 14:38

Westyfield2 said:
Saw a Chavvy kid at Uni today driving a 118d SE .

Hah! same experience on the way back to work, proper chavved up lad in a 60 plate 1 series, had the backwards cap, vest and everything.

SkodaMart · 18 Feb 2014 at 14:41

Prospective BMW owners should be interviewed, a home visit arranged and parents on both sides met (if not deceased) before any contacts are signed.....

What the hell is this thread??

We are talking about a motor car, a lump of metal with tyres!

OMG!

DAIR · 18 Feb 2014 at 14:45

Vanilla said:
I was reading something similar on pistonheads.

I think they have devalued their M brand by placing it on cars that share some M parts rather than are M cars. M135i for example.

M has almost become a trim level on anything not an M3/M5/M6, etc.

Agree with you there.

It has become a rather heated discussion on PH.

Haggisman · 18 Feb 2014 at 14:49

Gepetto said:
That really sums it up for me, as it is demonstrably sound management, and whether it has (or has not) impacted on brand perception might be a moot point, due to the success, but, it has certainly affected my perception.

I think that's about right - and to be honest, I don't think they "care" that much if it's affected their brand perception, since for every person who's "put off" by them being less exclusive, there are probably several "normal" people buying one

Gepetto said:
Interesting that you mention VW and Toyota (Lexus) in the same post, simply from the point that I had not considered them as comparable to BMW even a few years ago, whereas now I'm more inclined to do so.

But is that because your perception of BMW has gone down, or because your perceptions of VW and Lexus have gone up?

mattyg · 18 Feb 2014 at 14:53

Lack of reliability may play a large part
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/9815860/German-cars-lose-out-in-reliability-survey.html

Gepetto · 18 Feb 2014 at 14:58

SkodaMart said:
Prospective BMW owners should be interviewed, a home visit arranged and parents on both sides met (if not deceased) before any contacts are signed.....

What the hell is this thread??

We are talking about a motor car, a lump of metal with tyres!

OMG!

Errr?

Gepetto · 18 Feb 2014 at 15:06

Haggisman said:
But is that because your perception of BMW has gone down, or because your perceptions of VW and Lexus have gone up?

I'm not sure to be honest.

I think I always viewed Lexus as being between the mainstream manufacturers and the three I regard as "premium" and pretty much regarded VW as the top of the tree in comparison to the likes of Ford, Vauxhall, Mazda, Toyota, etc.

Now, to me at least, there seems to be less of a demarcation, and BMW now provide a larger range of cars than say, Lexus, or VW. Does that make them more common, and therefore, less desirable?