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Originally Posted by Germanauto
Yeah in such a global and tech-dominated world, nearly every automaker is trying to be everything to everybody. The result is that every automaker is objectively making good cars but on the flipside there is less individuality among brands. Clarkson said several years ago that the Germans have been trying to hard to chase the same customer that they are essentially selling the same cars! There's a lot of truth to that.
And in the age of electrification it's going to get even worse. Nearly every vehicle is going to ride on some sort of modular skateboard platform. When you eliminate differences in sound, engine, transmission etc. then there really isn't anything unique about any product besides the superficial shit at the surface such as styling, interior, and tech.
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I still strongly feel that the world has gotten a LOT harder for luxury brands and the classic brands like BMW, Mercedes, and etc are not adapting well. They need to pick it up before it is too late...
You have two converging realities that will kill them if they don't find a new path forward...
1. Younger buyers don't value the same features as "luxury" as the older crowd does. They aren't drooling over what type of leather is used in a car's interior (and many aren't even interested in leather at all!). As such luxury won't sell itself based on finishes alone.
2. Technology. Again influenced by younger buyers who want more and more technology, but there is a major caveat here when, again, compared to the older buying crowd that luxury has targeted. The younger crowd don't want automaker created tech and instead they want it from Apple or Google. Meaning iDrive or MBUX or whatever have a harder time differentiating the car maker when the buyer is looking at all brands as equal once they "support CarPlay or Android Auto".
Another sub current that is strongly playing out too is that younger buyers don't see car ownership as a mandatory thing. As such they are getting started driving later and later and are very much OK seeing cars as pure commodities. Meaning they are interested in a future where cars do more and more of the "Driving" for them. Which, again, means the car itself fades more and more into the background.
I've said it a million times, but the luxury brands need to start pivoting toward "experiences" and trust where they make the ownership of a luxury car feel unique and rewarding so they can offer something that can stand out in the transition that can't easily be wiped out by tech and other converging dynamics.
But that will require them to shift to caring a lot more about the customers owning their cars and not just about who drove it off the lot first...
Tesla is in almost every measurement worse than a luxury car and yet they are the brand that the younger generation associates as worth aspiring to obtain... German brands should really let that sink in and understand what's going on there. It isn't just about the "EV" part of it...