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Are US Dealers drowning in Base Macan?

28K views 110 replies 41 participants last post by  synergize 
#1 ·
I'm not going to lie, I was never a fan of the introduction of the Base model in the US (and neither was my dealer as far as I can tell).
I feared that it was not going to sell, hurt the brand image and overall resale value of the Macan. What happens when $50K Base owners come in for their first $500 service and oil change? I can see some run screaming for the Audi, BMW or Benz dealerships across the street.
Although I have no hard evidence for the latter it sure as heck looks like Porsche is flooding dealer lots with the Base Macan. I can tell when looking at my local dealers. They usually don't have a lot of cars on the lot but both lately have a couple dozen Base just sitting around.
Finally looking at cars.com and seeing 1,350 new Base listed right now honestly worries me. Compared to 457 S, 375 GTS and 111 Turbo that just seems like an awful lot. Looks like they are not selling as expected by Porsche.

Thoughts anybody?
 
#2 ·
I checked inventory online and the dealer in my town has 23 new 2017s in stock.


21 of those are the new 4-cyl base model! one is a Turbo, one is an S, and they have zero GTSs. I guess this means the new base model is going to be the biggest selling Porsche ever.


Too soon to tell, but I think they will have a hard time selling all those base models at the list prices, and will end up having to give big discounts to move them.
 
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#3 ·
The four cylinder certainly makes sense for countries that tax by engine displacement. The US is not one of them.

One reason given for the Cayman historically not selling is that the consumer didn't want to be perceived as not being able to buy a 911. Going to 4 cylinders with the 718 aggravates this. So also with the Macan "base"?

Perhaps we just too readily associate 4 cylinder cars with the ones that we drove (because we had to) when we started out in life?
 
#5 ·
I think there are other more important things for me to worry about than a base Macan. Most will be optioned to the $55/$60K range and it still keeps the Macan less ubiquitous than the competition.

When the dust settles all will be balanced out. In the big picture of car life, Porsche is and will still be more of a niche brand and if not, I either stay with Porsche or I won't. Not going to loose sleep over it.

That's my two....




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#17 ·
I think there are other more important things for me to worry about than a base Macan. Most will be optioned to the $55/$60K range and it still keeps the Macan less ubiquitous than the competition.

When the dust settles all will be balanced out. In the big picture of car life, Porsche is and will still be more of a niche brand and if not, I either stay with Porsche or I won't. Not going to loose sleep over it.

That's my two....




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@WHT TGR, you're selling yourself short; that's worth at least three...:D
 
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#7 ·
When the updated Q5's finally come out, you're going to really have to want the badge to get the base Macan over a Q5 or even an SQ5. Only reason I'm bothering with the Macan now is the GTS is pretty nice, and I'm tired of waiting for a new Q5 to replace our 2009. (Especially since I recently sold my R8)
 
#11 ·
My local lots have tons and tons of the 2.0 models and virtually nothing else. It could go either way - make the S, GTS and Turbo a little stronger on the resale because they're harder to find (ideal), or they could end up diluting the model so much with the 2.0 it reduces overall demand for the Macan (and if they need to use discounts to move them that hurts all Macans). Only time will tell.
 
#12 ·
interesting article at First Drive: 2017 Porsche Macan | Driving


the author figures "The target demographic for this base Macan is fairly pegged as a 52- to 55-year-old woman. She’s got money – likely a household income in the CDN$350,000 range – and is a prestige buyer."


there a probably a fair number of empty-nester former-soccer-moms driving Audi, BMW, and Mercedes SUVs looking for something new. the challenge that Porsche has is getting the marketing machine going to reach that target demographic.
 
#15 ·
At my dealer, 14 out of 15 Macans are 4 cyl. I admit I'm a little 'queasy' about a 4 cyl 252 hp Macan. The 14 in inventory locally go up to $64k. I may sound like a P snob, but I think a Porsche Macan should represent something well above a well- optioned Audi Q 5 in luxury and performance - that's what we're paying for, right? I'm not sure the Base Macan does this. JMHO.
 
#20 ·
Only thing I can think of is that the Macan won't be the only car in the $350k household (which in Canada means a $200k take home). A $76k third car is about what you'd expect for that income bracket. A sports car and a winter car for the primary bread earner and a prestige grocery getter for the spouse.

My dealer lists a dozen 2.0 litre Macans but only 1 picture. I know they plan to use them as part of their fleet of service loaners, in addition to the Cayennes that we now get.
 
#27 ·
From the marketing and margin point of view, i don't understand why they bother to introduce or push this 4 cylynder model, in Canada, it will take close to a year for S, GTS but fof a base model, 2-3 months turn around time. Silky, consider the margin per Macan is so low, why don't the company try to sell higher price point car that will give them more margins, i assume the more the options for the cars, the higher the profit margin for the company. And it does better in terms of reputation for their high end customers too. I don't understand, why bother fighting in this base model, for a lot less money. Unless i do understand their profit margin incorrectly, greedy or stupid marketing perhaps...
 
#32 ·
...the margin per Macan is so low, why don't the company try to sell higher price point car that will give them more margins, ..


it's just volume. better to make $5000 each on 20 cars than $10000 each on two cars. Also, they have probably increased the margin on the base Macan by producing big volumes (big for Porsche that is). It's a very competitive space though, with the X3 and Q5 being the smartest choices I think. Most consumers shopping in that space don't even have any awareness that Porsche has anything to offer there, so it's an uphill battle I think.


maybe they have experiences in other markets with the base Macan (and the diesel) that they think it can work in the North American market?
 
#28 ·
Great post !! It's not the first time Porsche overbuilt a car and flooded lots with them . My guess is that there will be huge discounts on leftovers but the problem is that no matter how much is taken off the car it wont make the car any more appealing to me. . i didn't think there could be worse than the Macan S when it comes to option pricing but the base car is now the champ . It successfully dethroned the Macan S for being the most overpriced car in the line up but that's not all . It's also under powered and so diluted compared to the top tiers . With the launch of the performance package turbo the base car is now a 5th string Macan .

I'd rather have the Audi . At least the Audi costs less and is top in its game rather than some watered down version of what the car really could be.

it's sad that so many want the badge that they dont care if its created just to get them to bite at something less . I feel badly for the dealerships . they are already stuck with so many 2016 unsold cars , along with a failing 718 , and the one car which was the home run hitter is moved aside for this ridiculous variant.

I am tired about hearing about gasoline . When gas prices were over 4 bucks and the Cayenne was a V8 the car still sold . If a person is crying poverty over paying for gas then maybe he ought to buy a Honda and save money altogether .
 
#33 ·
Porsche is most likely targeting the Audi or BMW buyer who want to drive a Porsche but its just a little out of their reach.........so they offer a baseline brand to get them into the vehicle in the hopes they stay brand loyal.

Reminds me of when Honda launched Acura and Toyota launched Lexus in an effort to get their buyers to move to their luxury brand instead of another brand.

All though in this case Porsche actually cheapens their brand and their prestige by offering a sub par, under powered version of their popular SUV.

GTS or Turbo for the win !!!

also no $500 oil changes for me either..........LOL
 

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#29 ·
I know you hate the options pricing on the S but it wasn't considered overpriced until the GTS came along, making it much more difficult to option up an S without making one that's more expensive than a no-option GTS (which has a ton of stuff built into the package). With no GTS in the world the Macan S was making its own niche in price and performance - above the X3/Q5/Evoque crowded segment but less money and better handling than a Range Rover Sport or X5. Now that the GTS exists, I agree with your thinking about dollar thresholds above which the S didn't make sense. Now they're spec'ing 2.0s to the numbers you thought were too high for the S! Madness.

I don't know why anyone would buy a $65k base Macan in the US. You can get a pretty nice S for that price or a highly optioned, lightly used S. Or an SQ5 that blows the doors off the Macan 2.0. Why does this vehicle need to exist in this market?

I don't know anything about how the 718 is selling in these parts but there are fantastic deals out there on 2016 911s. The 991.2 is selling very well & the rumored "run" on the last of the non-turbo 911s hasn't happened. People want the new one.
 
#30 ·
I know you hate the options pricing on the S but it wasn't considered overpriced until the GTS came along, making it much more difficult to option up an S without making one that's more expensive than a no-option GTS (which has a ton of stuff built into the package). With no GTS in the world the Macan S was making its own niche in price and performance - above the X3/Q5/Evoque crowded segment but less money and better handling than a Range Rover Sport or X5. Now that the GTS exists, I agree with your thinking about dollar thresholds above which the S didn't make sense. Now they're spec'ing 2.0s to the numbers you thought were too high for the S! Madness.
I felt that the S was overpriced too (from the moment i joined the forum) but the base brings it to a new level . At least with the S the big complaint was having everything as an option and weighing it up against a Turbo (back then there were only two variants).The S at least is a decent car . The base is a watered down car with a badge .

Somewhere on this thread someone suggested that the target buyer demographic was women . I don't buy it . I feel women are extremely savvy shoppers and are very capable of knowing when an item is not worth purchasing.

I feel the dealerships who are flooded with these cars will get stuck holding them in inventory .
 
#31 ·
2.0 has been a big success in emerging market like China, where import luxury cars are much much more expensive than here. So the price difference between Macan and Macan S/GTS is fairly large, hence Q5/GLC/X3 aren't really cheaper there neither. But here in the U.S., I agree with most of you I don't see the point of buying 2.0.

In terms of resale value... seriously? I'm enjoying the heck out of my Macan S. What resale value?? ;)
 
#41 ·
I think this may be a big part of it. I was just on vacation in Taiwan and I see more base Macan than S or GTS. I saw handful of base but only 1x S and 1x GTS. It is a true fact that due to import taxation at each of Asia countries, European cars are generally almost twice more than what you would get in the US. So I would think base model makes a lot of sense to expand beyond NA/European market.
 
#35 ·
I think people are forgetting that Porsche is not a particularly exclusive brand. I know many people think that $100k is a lot for a car and they don't want to see themselves coming and going. But the reality is Porsche sells 200,000 cars a year at that average price. If you want exclusivity, you have to move up to Lambo, Ferrari, McLaren etc. Porsche is just at the fringe of the Mercedes, Audi, BMW group (who all sell vehicles from $35k to $300k). It's brand dilution in the name of expanding the base. Before you know it, there will be 0.9% financing options on Porsches.

The big issue is that the Porsche Macan 2.0 now sells in exactly the same space as garden variety Audis, BMWs and Mercedes. And I can tell you that it costs 1/3 as much to service my wife's Q5 as my Macan. Buying a cheap Macan for prestige is one thing. Paying $350 for an oil change is quite another.
 
#36 ·
.....
The big issue is that the Porsche Macan 2.0 now sells in exactly the same space as garden variety Audis, BMWs and Mercedes. And I can tell you that it costs 1/3 as much to service my wife's Q5 as my Macan. Buying a cheap Macan for prestige is one thing. Paying $350 for an oil change is quite another.
That leads to this speculation. As Porsche expands its potential customer base with the Macan 2.0 and competes with garden variety Audis, BMWs and Mercedes, perhaps their service costs will also start to trend downward as well. If that does indeed happen then the introduction of the 2.0 into the US and Canadian markets could well be A Good Thing for many if not all Porsche owners.
 
#38 ·
I just got one today as a loaner vehicle while my S is in for service. It is brand new and the dealer said they just got in. I asked if they are selling much of those and he said again that they just got them in last week so no sales yet. I cannot wait to get my S back later today.
 
#40 ·
And from the Sept. 16th interview in Automobile Magazine, Porsche CEO Oliver Blume says a smaller SUV than the Macan is under consideration. SO they really are moving down into the transit for the masses arena.
 
#42 ·
Porsche Cars North America Sales By Model: August 2016 - @FlatSixes - the blog about Porsche

"Bolstered by a strong launch of the new 2.0-liter turbocharged Macan, sales results for the Macan model line were exceptional, registering 2,304 retail sales. This represents a growth of 71.9% over August 2015 sales. Year-to-date Macan sales increased 24.6%, achieving 11,364 vehicles."

I think the readers on this board may not be representative all the car buyers out there and that the North American Macan 2.0 sales are doing fine.
 
#43 ·
Porsche Cars North America Sales By Model: August 2016 - @FlatSixes - the blog about Porsche

"Bolstered by a strong launch of the new 2.0-liter turbocharged Macan, sales results for the Macan model line were exceptional, registering 2,304 retail sales. This represents a growth of 71.9% over August 2015 sales. Year-to-date Macan sales increased 24.6%, achieving 11,364 vehicles."

I think the readers on this board may not be representative all the car buyers out there and that the North American Macan 2.0 sales are doing fine.
I disagree. August Macan sales are up not because of the 2.0 launch but because they were all stuck without a PCM at port in July. Porsche says the 2.0 launch was "strong" but actual numbers are not published. Look at the dealer lots. Full of Base models. Time will tell I guess but for now I remain skeptical.
 
#48 ·
Canibalization maybe? Baby boomers reaching retirement age with tons of money and choosing the Macan over 911s and other models so they can confortably carry grandsons around and still have a sporty experience? It could be interesting to know the age sales distribution to see if this argument flies.
 
#45 ·
I think Porsche has to think seriously about brand perception and marketing. Yes cheaper cars are easier to sell lead to more volume but in some case, especially for prestigious brands, it doesn't always work that way. It is funny to see or to say, in general most brands want to upscale their brand perceptions and clients, but Porsche is doing the opposite route, i know they have survive. But it gotta stop somewhere, shouldn't go down all the way to become just a cheap mass market car manufacturer. I can't imagine Hermes or even Louis Vuitton purses would want to be in the same market as Coach or Michael Kors. Someone in Porsche family should have a vision(better i hope). You can't be everything for everyone.
 
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