Winterkorn: Porsche Needs to Pump Up the Volume

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

A BlueSport-based sub-Boxster? A “Roxster” Cute Ute based on the Tiguan? A Panamera coupe? VW CEO Martin Winterkorn’s interview with Manager Magazin is sure to make Porsche purists sweat. Sure, he says “a Porsche must remain a Porsche.” But how else does Winterkorn expect the Zuffenhausen boys to sell 150k units per year by 2012, let alone 200k by 2018? Just as a reminder, Porsche currently sells about 75k units per year, Cayennes and all. But, as Winterkorn modestly asks, “who plays the multi-brand game better than us?” Yikes!

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Wsn Wsn on Aug 21, 2009
    From my understanding VW has made Bentley hugely profitable (on the margin side), even more so than RR. Did RR ever make money in the past 50 years? That's not a great target to begin with. VW group is valued at several dozen billion dollars. The CEO should not divert his attention to a brand that can make $10M in a good year. Not to mention Bugatti is a complete money sink hole. The goal of a VW CEO should be to make its premium brand as profitable as Porsche (before takeover) or Lexus. --- There is a harvard case study on the Audi/lambo (who actually owns Lambo) merger (that everyone laughed at). Those same people who created the case study ran 3 of 5 American investment banks to the ground. 5, if there hasn't been a federal bailout. If you want to learn, learn it from who did it right, like ... Toyota.
  • Rnc Rnc on Aug 21, 2009
    If you want to learn, learn it from who did it right, like … Toyota. You're argument is circularly based on this Toyota is great copy Toyota, your not copying Toyota you must not be doing it right. I imagine in the 60's that would have said "If you want to learn, learn it from who did it right like...GM" Lets see Toyota is the same company that has 3 million cars/year in over capacity b/c they couldn't see that the 16m/car market in the US wasn't sustainable (they canned thier CEO for a reason). The same company that concentrated thier production in the US and Japan and missed the BRIC revolution. NEC made that mistake once, lets copy IBM just do it better and then well be better than IBM, and for a short time they were, and they were so focused on being more IBM than IBM that when the market (world) changed they missed it, IBM didn't. Those same people who created the case study ran 3 of 5 American investment banks to the ground. 5, if there hasn’t been a federal bailout. You're confusing the quality of the business school with the greed of the people who came out of it (there is a difference).
  • Wsn Wsn on Aug 21, 2009
    rnc : August 21st, 2009 at 1:37 pm You’re argument is circularly based on this Toyota is great copy Toyota, your not copying Toyota you must not be doing it right. -------------------------------------------- I admit that Toyota or GM is not a good example. But look at the other side, which company made a lot of money by buying failed brands? Ford (AM, Jag, LR)? Not really. -- You’re confusing the quality of the business school with the greed of the people who came out of it (there is a difference). ------------------------------------------- Everyone is greedy, including you and me. Business schools are there to teach greedy people to be smart greedy people that don't end up holding the bag at the end. If the graduates failed so brutally, the schools also failed. As of right now, I don't think Harvard or Yale business schools are good in teaching economic principles. If there is any value left in these schools, they provide the training and connections for a career in lobbying.
  • U mad scientist U mad scientist on Aug 22, 2009
    The end result is still the same: one or more of them is going to bite the dust, and all three are going to ignore the threat that the Asians (who don’t seem as prone to this kind of ego slapfest) pose. They seem to be doing fine, it's the asians (especially the japanese) who pigeonholed themselves in the US. Hell, they're even positioned perfectly for when americans inevitably downsize their cars, if only they can make their cars reliable. -- So, just build $10k~$40k VWs and $40k~$200k Porsches and drop everything else. Prestige and image matters. That's why even toyota created lexus, but are still considered one rung down on the ladder. The halo effect works when applied properly, regardless of whether you purposely choose to ignore it. --- If the graduates failed so brutally, the schools also failed. The graduates didn't fail at all, most are rich; it's the rest of us who got fuucked.
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