Mini Case Study of Porsche: The Real Luxury Cars

Porsche, an automotive brand, has mainly focused on producing sports cars since its inception. It started with the manufacturing of the Porsche 356. Porsche Taycan is the first all-electric sports car of Porsche, released in 2019.

Porsche's brand name indicates high-quality and expensive cars. Porsche entered the market and positioned itself as an innovative automobile manufacturer. It is specialized in the manufacturing of sports cars, sedans and SUVs. A typical Porsche customer will be wealthy and adventurous.

Company Highlights

Porsche still keeps its brand value in the automobile industry. It indicates the management strategies that they adopted over the years. Porsche offers quality customer services. The loyalty of Porsche among customers allowed them to make important decisions in business operations. It made Porsche a unique automotive brand in the world.

Porsche - Latest News
Porsche - Current Situation in the Market
Porsche - History
Porsche - SWOT Analysis
Porsche - Products
Porsche - Car Price
Porsche - Conclusion
Porsche - FAQs

Porsche - Latest News

24 September 2021 - Porsche is planning to stop selling the combustion-engine Macan model by 2024. However, it is planning to develop 718 Cayman, Boxster electric vehicles by 2025.

23 September 2021 - Porsche gave a sneak preview of the next generation of electric motors with the mission R concept. The car giant will turn its 718 lineups fully electric by 2025 and its design has been previewed by the mission R concept car.

Porsche - Current Situation in the Market

Porsche India's sales grow 52 per cent in first-quarter 2021, luxury automaker records best quarterly figures in 7 years. US retail deliveries in the first three months of 2021 totalled 17,368 up 44.8 per cent from the same period a year earlier. In the first quarter of 2020, Porsche delivered 53,125 cars. Deliveries fell 5% compared to 2019 due to the Covid-19 crisis. The Cayenne is the most outsold model in the first quarter of 2020 and the Porsche 911 in the year 2021. It has 18,417 deliveries. Macan took the 2nd position with 15,547 deliveries.

The Porsche 911 model series has 8,482 deliveries. It also has 16% increases when compared to the same period in the last year. Taycan is the first all-electric sports car of Porsche. It reached the market in late 2019. Taycan has 1,391 deliveries in the first quarter of 2020. In the first quarter of 2020, 14,098 Porsche cars were delivered to Chinese customers.

China became the top market of Porsche with the most number of deliveries. The United States bagged the second position with 11,994 deliveries. In Germany, Porsche delivered 5,214 cars to customers. In the European market, a total of 16,787 vehicles was delivered. A total of 22,031 vehicles were delivered in the Asia-Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East regions.

Porsche - History

Ferdinand Porsche founded the company in 1931 with main offices in the centre of Stuttgart, Germany. Initially, the company offered motor vehicle development work and consulting, but didn't build any car under its own name. One of the first assignments the new company received was from the German government to design a car for the people; that is, a Volkswagen. This resulted in the Volkswagen Beetle, one of the most successful car designs of all time. The Porsche 64 was developed in 1939 using many components from the Beetle.

On 15 December 1945, Ferdinand was arrested for war crimes. During his 20-month imprisonment, Ferdinand Porsche's son, Ferry Porsche, decided to build his own car, because he could not find an existing one that he wanted to buy. He also had to steer the company through some of its most difficult days until his father's release in August 1947. The first model of what was to become the 356 were built in a small sawmill in Gmünd, Austria. The prototype car was shown to German auto dealers, and when pre-orders reached a set threshold, production (with the aluminium body) was begun by Porsche Konstruktionen GesmbH, founded by Ferry and Louise.

Ferdinand Porsche developed his sports car prototype in March 1948. At the end of the year, he started a small-scale production with the help of Swiss financiers. Ferdinand died in 1951. After that Ferry officially took in-charge of the company. Porsche went through a financial crisis in 2008. Because of this, it was sold to Volkswagen.

Porsche - SWOT Analysis

Strengths of Porsche

The strength of a company is what makes it stand alone in the crowd. Some of the strengths of Porsche are:

• Reputation and Brand Image: Porsche developed a strong brand name which is one of their main strengths. The company has worked hard since its inception to ensure that all of its products have the highest quality. It is known for its heritage sports and luxury cars along with the automotive representation. The cars are preferred by high-end customers not only because of the price range but the machine power as well.
• Brand Extension: Porsche offers 6 car models in India, including 2 cars in the SUV category, 1 car in the Sedan category, 3 cars in the Coupe category. The number of variations they offer makes them the brand with the highest brand extension opportunities.
• Sports Base: Porsche is famous for its sports cars, like the 911. The 911 is a world-known machine that is on sale for the longest time because of the machine it consists of. Their base in the motor racing world is the strongest out of all the other brands because of the quality of the products they use.
• Loyalty: Porsche’s biggest strength is its strong and loyal fan base. Apart from being a brand for high-end customers or luxury-based cars, Porsche is in talks with the simplest of minds too. The loyalty base is very high which keeps the brands' position on top always.
• Interior: The interior of the vehicle is comfortable. Also, Porsche has a traditional style. It provides high technical and visual standards. Although people called the company the luxury market, it was flexible to respond to changes in the market. The company has developed some of the most successful SUVs on the market.
• Research & Development: The company is strong in research and development. Initially, it invested heavily in the research. As a result, the company was able to become a market leader in many areas. The history of the company shows a commitment to quality and continuous improvement.

Weaknesses of Porsche

• Expensive for Middle Class: The company has mainly focused on the production of luxury vehicles. This gave a higher price to all products. It was expensive for ordinary consumers. Many consumers cannot afford the car because they sell it at high prices. Ordinary consumers view the product as a luxury item. So before they make the decision to buy a Porsche car, they will give precedence to other vehicles.
• Vehicle Size: Most of Porsche's cars are small. So they aren't suitable for all operations. And also most of the assembling processes are done in Finland instead of Germany. The company uses a Japanese transmission system in its vehicles which are considered a weakness of Porsche.

Opportunities of Porsche

• Entering a new market: The development of electric and hybrid cars will make good opportunities for the company. The company already manufactured an electric car named "Porsche Taycan" in 2019. The development of automatic and intelligent cars is another option. Entering a new market will create more opportunities.
• Technology Driven: Technology has enabled manufacturers to make smart products. It allows car manufacturers to add more options to their cars. These features can help to prevent accidents or reduce the impact of accidents. It is a great opportunity to reach new markets. Porsche has the potential to expand its presence in emerging markets.

Threats of Porsche

Threats are something that can harm the company’s reputation or market value. Some of the threats for Porsche are:

• Government Policies: Government policies in some countries might result in a restriction for the selling or running of Porsche Cars. So, fixing their issues while they manage the policies is the better option for the company.
• Recession: Increase in the recession has led to a decrease in the number of people being able to afford such high-range cars produced by Porsche. Launching cars that can be purchased by the greater mass is another solution to the threat of losing customers.
• Competition: With the increasing competition in the market and their biggest competitors being “Tesla”, they need to come up with better products for their existing customer base.

Porsche - Products

Porsche has focused on producing sports cars since its inception. It started with the manufacturing of the Porsche 356 based on the Volkswagen Beetle design. Porsche built a car named "Porsche 911" in 1964. It was outsold well and loved by everyone. After the success of 911, Porsche introduced 912, 924 and 928, etc. They continued the manufacturing of new sports cars in the market.

The company presented a new model named "Boxster" in 1996. This was the first vehicle of Porsche that was designed as a roadster. After that, Porsche decided to manufacture other types of vehicles. It started with the manufacturing of an SUV. They manufactured an SUV named "Cayenne" in 2002. It was a luxury crossover SUV. It outsold more than the early models.

They produced a model named “Carrera GT” in 2003. It has 8th position on the top sports cars of all time. They introduced Porsche Cayman in 2005. It was derived from 2^nd and 3^rd generation Boxter. They presented the Panamera sedan in 2009. It was their first four-door sedan.

The Cayenne and Panamera models helped to expand the target market of the company. Both models attracted many female consumers who want the Porsche experience. In 2013, they introduced a model named "Porsche 918 Spyder". It was a mid-engine plug-in hybrid supercar. In 2014, they manufactured a five-door luxury crossover SUV named "Porsche Macan".

In 2019, they released an electric vehicle named “Porsche Taycan”. The company has invested mainly in development and research to ensure all qualities. The models of Porsche were reliable and innovative. Also, it is one of the most luxurious brands in the world.

Porsche - Car Price

Porsche is a luxury car manufacturer serving specific customers. Porsche conducted a market study in 1946 to determine if consumers were willing to buy an expensive sports car. Since then, high expensive cars have been the focus of the company.

Porsche continues to build high-quality and expensive cars for the people who are ready to pay for the brand name. Macan is the cheapest model of Porsche starts at Rs 69.98 Lakh and 911 is the most expensive model that starts at Rs 1.69 Crore.

Porsche - Conclusion

Porsche is a luxury car maker with high performance and the company focuses on continuous improvement of quality through technological advancement to maintain and improve the brand’s prestige. Having said that, the company maintains a focus on niche market segments and producing current models.

Porsche - FAQs

Why is Porsche so popular?

When it comes to luxury vehicles or sports cars, Porsche beats all other brands. It is popular because of its luxury, good driving experience, usability, and customer loyalty. It is built to be as good as they possibly can make it.

Is Porsche the best car company?

Porsche are incredible and reliable german cars. It shows the status and peak performance. It makes great cars that are well built, look good and drive well.

Is Porsche better than Ferrari?

Both are incredible machines but Ferrari is faster in speed, more luxurious and more expensive. Having said that, Porsche is more reliable, practical and has lower maintenance costs.

Why is Porsche so expensive?

The technical answer can be because of awesome performance, high quality, incredible driving experience, etc. but apart from that customer's willingness to pay lets the company produces expensive cars.