Have BMW devalued their brand?

[lemonade]

In truth most of this 'prestige' feeling is/was down to brand perception and what people thought they represented when in fact it wasn't the case.

Audi should not even be mentioned in the same sentence as BMW or Merc, they are just a mediocre company with zero styling flair, 0 engineering finesse, even their so called great interiors are not great, just peoples perception that they are better than others. VW just re-branded and marketed the company as a premium one, they are the equivalent of Superdry from the clothing world.

Mercedes was always seen as the creme de la creme, they innovated and made some over-engineered quality cars which had that high class prestige feeling. They went building s**** for a decade, today they seem like players then leaders. BMW's was always seen as the more sportier brand, today both make models that were more associated with your mainstream brands like Fords etc, MPV's, supermini's etc, whereas before they were all about saloons and the odd coupe.

I can't see how either of the two can be deemed entirely as prestigious, they are more mainstream then some traditional mainstream manufacturers, and that is the market they are playing in. Everyone has one these days, from your high flying business man to your Tesco store assistant. What they are perhaps or what you can call them compared to your Fords and Vauxhall's is Premium, but most manufacturers these days produce cars that feel high quality, it's hard to call a new car these days as an outright bad car.

Lexus and Jaguar are probably the only ones who make exclusive and prestigious cars in the traditional sense, when you look at their range.

 

[Dogbreath]

What can be said about a 2000 316Ti Sport Compact? M badges on the exterior door mouldings, the wheels, steering wheel, gearstick and an M3 bodykit.

14 years ago, before most of us had driving licenses..

So you are saying they started their sad decline some time ago?

 

[Scania]

The only brand which I think is being devalued is Porsche. They sell significantly more lower priced cars now. With the launch of the Macan this is only going to increase.

Agree with that!

From the perspective of sales figures, they have gone from an out & out high end sports car manufacturer to a high end SUV manufacturer who happens to sell the odd high end sports car here & there!

 

[Hades]

Back in the 80s and 90s I viewed Mercedes and BMW as both premium With Audi nowhere in the same league (merc slightly higher than BMW) but today I view the gulf between them as much higher and BMW only a little higher than Audi. I think that's partly due to there being so many BMWs on the road now.

In that time Jaguar have improved markedly from an almost failed company to something with real flair and energy again.

 

[mattyg]

Agree with that!

From the perspective of sales figures, they have gone from an out & out high end sports car manufacturer to a high end SUV manufacturer who happens to sell the odd high end sports car here & there!

But..Like most businesses. Has it negatively affected their bottom line.

 

[Scania]

But..Like most businesses. Has it negatively affected their bottom line.

I very much doubt it,SUV cash cow anybody??

 

[Barks]

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.

The irony being the M135i has been credited by many car reviewers as one of the best cars BMW has made in years. It's not as if they've stuck an M badge on a 118d, an M135i is quick as hell and can hold its own against much faster and more luxurious performance cars.

Personally I think M Sport trim on basic-level cars is more damaging to the brand than the new M-Performance sub-division. All the M-Performance cars or most of them do deserve the branding/recognition because of the performance on offer.

If you look at Audi though, take the S3. You can literally spec up a basic level cheap A3 to look almost identical because of the S-line nonsense, it even has the same wheels! BMW will not allow you to spec a standard 1 Series to look like the M135i, which helps give the M135i exclusivity. I appreciate the M Sport trims tart the car up a bit but they still don't make them look like the real M cars in the same way Audi's S-Line trim to the S cars IMO.

 

[86JR]

I think BMW are getting a bit old in the tooth. For example since 2007 Audi have been making a Supercar (R8), Merc have made a Supercar (SLS, SLR Mclaren, etc), even Alfa Romeo do a Supercar.....what does BMW have in comparison? Nothing. They need to pull their finger out and do a proper rwd, supercar. Porsche has gone the opposite in the past decade or two, from sports cars and supercars to mainstream cars like the Cayenne and Panamera, even in tdi form.

Having said that look at Porsche, the new 991 with options is more expensive than some supercars and it is not a supercar really just a vvvvgood performance car and can outperform them.

 

[rare]

For example since 2007 Audi have been making a Supercar (R8), Merc have made a Supercar (SLS, SLR Mclaren, etc), even Alfa Romeo do a Supercar.....what does BMW have in comparison? Nothing.

To be fair BMW have developing the i8, which is far more forward thinking than any of those mentioned.

 

[Trig]

Tbh i never really fancied bmw, now i've owned 2 I'm still not overly impressed.
As for devaluing, they are just hitting different categories and as such are probably selling more cars, shareholders are happy and thats ll any company cares about these days...

 

[lemonade]

BMW have only 'really' ever made one 'supercar' the M1, but that doesn't really have a massive bearing on whether a manufacturer is 'prestigious' or not, quite subjective matter.

 

[mattyfez]

It's basic economics, the high end of the market gives relatively low return, so prestigious brands need to make budget models.

Some see this as brand dilution, but it's really a response to customers perceived expectations, and the company tapping into a more lucrative market.

A similar analogy could be Acoustic guitars, entry level models from companies such as Martin and Taylor generally start at a thousand pounds, whereas far eastern mas manufacturers often imitate them for half the price.

So the prestigious brands are forced to offer slightly compromised models, in order to remain profitable, substituting rare woods for alternatives, etc.
.
Whilst that does represent a compromise, they also benefit from a strong history of engineering and production process.

That said, I can't say i particularly like a lot of VAG dashboard /interior designs.

 

[norm]

"prestige of the marque"

Essentially you want your car to be a tool for boasting. Plenty other exotic brands to choose from ...

 

[hurfdurf]

You can't be high end and high volume at the same time, Tommy Hilfiger learnt that the hard way and so do most other brands who go too far. Yes there were lower end BMW's before but they were not as accessible as the dross that's getting out out today.

 

[starfighter]

I would take your average BMW over an Audi due to RWD. I find it strange that such expensive cars can be FWD but they do tend to look nicer. I would say Audi and BMW are about equal with Mercedes being the best of the 3.

 

[wez130]

At the end of the day, it's business, any company is going to sell where the demand is. All of them are at it, there are so many A4/A6 tdi's on the road, so many BMW 320/330D's and so many Merc C220 Cdi's out there. Course it devalues the brand, but it's successful too. They are after all out to make money. At least they all still have their premium range (S/RS, M series and AMG etc)

 

[daz]

I think our perception has been changed just because they are a lot more common these days. When I was a child something like a Mercedes Benz was quite a rare site - especially an E class or an SL. An Audi? I don't think I knew how to pronounce it properly until I was a teenager, that's how many there were around!

 

[mattyfez]

I think our perception has been changed just because they are a lot more common these days. When I was a child something like a Mercedes Benz was quite a rare site - especially an E class or an SL. An Audi? I don't think I knew how to pronounce it properly until I was a teenager, that's how many there were around!

My granddad used to drive an Audi 80, solid car but it had nothing really going for it, it was duller than dishwater.

Nowadays people think of Audi as a premium car, its all perception and marketing, "buying a badge" if you will. same with the pretend M-sport beemers.

 

[The_Abyss]

In truth most of this 'prestige' feeling is/was down to brand perception and what people thought they represented when in fact it wasn't the case.

Er - a brand is entirely what you perceive it to be. That's entirely what branding is all about - the equity in the brand is entirely in the sentiment.

BMW, along with some others, seem to have benefited from planning and circumstance. Planning, in that they took a relatively desirable, prestige brand and made it attainable and accessible to a wider population. Thereafter there drive is to move up the brand ladder - move from a 1 series to a 3 series, from a 4 pot to a 6 pot and so on.

They've also benefited from circumstance in the market. Manufacturers who were previously 'mass market' and more widely accessible deciding to try and break into the more premium market. No wonder 3 series are so popular when they're able to compete on price with a Mondeo, which let's not forget replaced the Sierra at a time when the perception and accessibility of the two different brands was somewhat different.

Making your product more widely available gives greater recognition and, crucially, scale. But, the more scale a brand has the harder and more expensive it is to control and influence. It becomes a marketing budget arms race.

 

[mattyfez]

Er - a brand is entirely what you perceive it to be. That's entirely what branding is all about - the equity in the brand is entirely in the sentiment.

BMW, along with some others, seem to have benefited from planning and circumstance. Planning, in that they took a relatively desirable, prestige brand and made it attainable and accessible to a wider population. Thereafter there drive is to move up the brand ladder - move from a 1 series to a 3 series, from a 4 pot to a 6 pot and so on.

They've also benefited from circumstance in the market. Manufacturers who were previously 'mass market' and more widely accessible deciding to try and break into the more premium market. No wonder 3 series are so popular when they're able to compete on price with a Mondeo, which let's not forget replaced the Sierra at a time when the perception and accessibility of the two different brands was somewhat different.

Making your product more widely available gives greater recognition and, crucially, scale. But, the more scale a brand has the harder and more expensive it is to control and influence. It becomes a marketing budget arms race.

when you consider a brand new fiesta with decent spec will cost 17k...(only 125bhp) If I was in the market for a 17k car, a fiesta would be the last thing on my list.

reference: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03wc9v7/Top_Gear_Series_21_Episode_3/