Dr Ing H C F Porsche Ag: True to Brand?

Case Study: Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG (A): True to Brand?

Questions:

1. Should Porsche move into the sport-utility market? Did it have other options? What would you have recommended at this time? (0.5 - 1 page)

 When entering the Suv-market it lowered its brand value.

Porsche wasn't seen as unique anymore. It had other options like designing another unique sport car with new features and try to increase their capital that way.

2. Because of the success of the Boxster, its main production plant in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen near its headquarters worked at near capacity. Where should it locate its new plant to build the new SUV? How important was it for the new model to be "made in Germany"? ( 0.5 page)

 Strategy, they should have had the plant in the US, because 40-60% of sales was there, and most of the parts had to come from the US. They had plant in Finland, not Germany as well. By sourcing globally, you can also ensure the quality. (when you are a wholesale customer, you are the king, and can set up rules about production,...)

3. By moving into the SUV market, did Porsche remain true to its brand? What does that mean in 1998? (0.5 page)

 The Suv was made on the platform of the Touareq, so the basics of a VW. (and first you need the design in order to see what components you need, thus, Porsche stole the design from VW)

Sourcing of components can be anywhere, also ensuring the quality.

4. Should Porsche move into the sport-utility market? Did it have other options? What would you have recommended at this time?

It is always risky to enter a new market, especially for a small player like Porsche, but I think it was a very good decision for several reasons.

Due to the stock market crash in 1987, where Porsche was quite dependant on, Porsche had to do something in order to get the company back on track.

They decided to enter the sport-utility market. This was not an impulsive decision though, the SUV's popularity with US drivers was because Americans are attracted to large cars and truck that could serve both as a car for work and personal use.

Porsche did market research among its customers and found out that many of them were waiting for a Porsche SUV.

The Porsche SUV targeted the high-end market with its top interior, which was uncommon for an SUV.

So I think, Porsche couldn't have done better then entering the SUV market with its luxurious Cayenne.

Porsche is designed for the higher class, and they too are interested in a 'family car'.

But, it was a risky movement anyways, because of the already crowded market.

Another thing that they could have done, was only launch the new boxster, and see if they could recover from that.

It's hard for me to say that he should have made this decision, because we all know that the Porsche Cayenne is a great success! Off course, in the beginning, it's maybe easier to criticize this decision, because you integrate the risks, the outsourcing (maybe customers buy the car because it's manufactured in Germany? We all know that customers