German upmarket hegemony, built on speed, innovation said unassailable In Europe

But Lexus, other upstarts with quality, style, price might be dangerous combination

In a country like the U.S. where the speed limit is rarely as high as 80 mph, would you buy a Porsche Cayenne SUV rather than a Range Rover because the Porsche was the fastest SUV in the world?

If a BMW Formula 1 car was victorious in the U.S. Grand Prix on a Sunday, would you buy a BMW 540 on Monday rather than a Lexus GS 450h?

Would you decide against buying a Rolls Royce Phantom because it could "only" do 145 mph, and might be overtaken on a German motorway by a Mercedes Maybach?

If your answer's to the above questions are "no", you might have some difficulty suppressing your derision if you read a new book called "Premium Power, The Secret Of Success Of Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Porsche And Audi", by Phillip Rosengarten and Christopher Stuermer, published by Palgrave MacMillan.

Messrs Rosengarten and Stuermer are both auto analysts from the Global Insight automotive forecasting company, based in Germany, and "Premium Power" sets out to show why German upmarket car manufacturers have been so hugely successful around the world, and particularly in North America.

Rosengarten, in an interview, outlined the basic premise of the book, which contends that German upmarket manufacturers, instead of copying Japanese concepts of lean production leading to faultless cars at competitive prices, developed "premium" brands which were differentiated by innovation, often led by success on the race track.

The "premium" brands of BMW, Porsche, Audi and Mercedes-Benz, and for the time being Range Rover and Volvo, are superior to mere luxury cars like Lexus, Infiniti, Cadillac, Jaguar, and Rolls Royce, because they continuously set new high standards. The luxury brands merely follow and imitate.

"This helps to explain why successful brands in America like Lexus are not so successful in Europe, where customers demand heritage above all," Rosengarten said.

German and Lexus upmarket success in America is undeniable, not to mention the dismal record of Lexus, so far, in Europe.

According to Rosengarten, brands like Range Rover, which is owned by Ford and is part of its Premier Automotive Group (PAG), are in danger of losing premium status and becoming merely luxury if they let innovation slip.

"Range Rover, now belonging to a volume group like Ford, would be in trouble if Ford failed to understand how important innovation is and might starve it of the necessary investment. Its air suspension was a benchmark and others have caught up. Now Range Rover has its All Terrain Response, which is something nobody else has."

All Terrain Response harnesses computer power to control off-roading with settings for conditions like mud, snow, rocks and sand, and almost automates the driving skills required.

Rosengarten says that innovation is demonstrated by motor sport victories, with Porsche showing by various sports car race wins that it stands for speed. Audi rally victories showed how its Quattro four-wheel drive system beat front wheel or rear wheel drive. Both Mercedes and BMW have long competed in Formula 1 Grand Prix. Advertising and sponsorship link premium car makers with upmarket activities including concerts, sports like golf, sailing and skiing, and also communicate the brand's history.

Innovation crucial

"A premium brand can only be successful in the long run if the brand is continuously setting standards in one of the dimensions which are important to its premium customers," he said.

"But premium innovation doesn't mean necessarily high tech or electronic ideas, a simple solution with customer focus will do. For instance there is a new option on the Lamborghini Gallardo which lifts the front suspension a couple of inches to avoid damaging the car as it rides over sleeping policeman (bumps in the road designed to slow urban traffic)."

According to the book, Lamborghini, Bentley, Bugatti, and Ferrari are also "premium". Mere "luxury" brands in the U.S. include Acura, Cadillac, Hummer, Infiniti, Lexus, Lincoln and Maybach, while second-rate status in Europe goes to Aston Martin, Jaguar, Lancia, Lotus, Maserati, Mini, Morgan, Rolls Royce, Saab and TVR.

"Performance is important too, it gives a power reserve and reassurance. At Bentley, the new Continental GT sets outstanding standards. With a top speed of 193 mph it puts the Aston Martin Vanquish (part of Ford's PAG), which is nearly €100,000 ($125,000) more expensive in its shadow. People who buy cars like these have achieved something top in their area whether it is football (soccer) or fashion or films, and they want their car to do the same thing," he said.

This idea might seem preposterous to some, that a car which can exceed the speed limit by more than the speed limit itself, at least outside of Germany where often there is no speed limit at all, would be desirable.

German speed limit would destroy premium advantage

But Rosengarten is insistent.

"A speed limit on German motorways would be the end of German premium brands, yes definitely, there's no doubt about that. It is all down to image. The fact that German cars can attain such high speeds forces them all to be very competitive; it brings your performance to a level which no outsider can compete with. The introduction of a speed limit on British roads (in 1965) is one of the reasons for the industry's demise because it didn't have the challenge of top competition any more," Rosengarten said.

Rosengarten is dismissive of the threat from Lexus to upmarket European sales, even though its amazing success in America might be thought to pose a long term threat.

"Pitiful" Lexus

Calling Lexus' European sales of about 20,000 cars a year "pitiful", Rosengarten doesn't rate the Japanese threat very highly.

"Without heritage, which means a glorious history and brand tradition, it will not be easy to establish a successful luxury brand in Europe, not to mention establish a premium brand. All the more so as Lexus has many American luxury-style elements with its design orientation geared towards other premium brands instead of creating its own unique elements, and it cannot showcase any important innovations," he said.

Rosengarten does concede that Toyota, its Lexus subsidiary and Honda's lead in hybrid cars, powered by a combination of petrol and electric motors, might give them some street cred, but he points to an ominous statistic.

"Globally, Lexus is selling less than half of Audi's volume, and less than those of BMW and Mercedes-Benz."

Not everybody falls for the line that car buyers demand a race-bred heritage for their cars, or that the Germans are the only manufacturers capable of producing high quality vehicles with a sporty drive.

The new little Lexus IS, which competes with the BMW 3 series, Audi A4 and Mercedes C-class, drives as well as its European-counterparts and looks just as classy. The new top-of-the-range Lexus LS limousine is surely equal to the Mercedes S class, BMW 7-series or Audi A8, while another Japanese luxury marque, Nissan's Infiniti, shortly to start selling in Europe, is no slouch when it comes to high class design. Cadillac will also be claiming bragging rights for its new cars which are also being seen in Europe in increasing numbers. Chrysler's eye-catching 300C and various Jeep SUVs are also competing vigorously in Europe.

No God given right

Professor Garel Rhys of Cardiff University Centre for Automotive Research isn't convinced that the Germans have all the answers. The likes of Lexus have also shown that high quality doesn't have to mean prices that make the eyes water. And outright performance might not be such a big seller where consumers are becoming more aware of the need to conserve previous fuel and resources.

"There's no God given right that German hegemony at the top end of the car market will continue, and when you look at the success of Lexus in America, which has forced the Germans to engage in more realistic pricing strategy, Lexus has certainly opened the eyes of American buyers of German products to the level of prices they are asked to pay," said Rhys.

"Their latest models appeal to the European eye and consumers and are not geared entirely to the American market, unlike Infiniti, which needs a more global shape. Lexus is a very, very competitive package, good handling and efficiency, the sort of car that can give BMW, Audi and Mercedes a good run for their money."

Speed not everything

"This book gives a very German view of the automobile. Customers aren't just interested in speed, but other things like style and quality. And with everybody becoming more aware and interested in global warming, the pursuit of speed is at variance with what might become a more acceptable attitude. High earners too like to demonstrate their social responsibility. Arguing that the Cayenne is faster than the Range Rover, is not the message required in the market place," said Rhys.

High quality, value for money, and a great experience at the dealership are Japanese attributes that will work for them even in the upmarket sector, said Al Bedwell, auto analyst at JDPower's operation in England.

"Having said that I think that German car buyers may be influenced by good motor sport results, but that's just a feeling. But with the right designs and dealer network, Lexus could be a lot more of a threat to German premium brands. Lack of a sporting heritage is only a minor handicap," said Bedwell.

Bedwell estimates that Lexus will raise its sales in Europe to between 45,000 and 55,000 by 2010, while Infiniti, which launches in Russia later this year and will start a full-scale roll out across Europe in 2008, will hit 20,000 by the end of 2010.

Honda's Acura has yet to announce any intention of selling its cars in Europe.

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Well, when it comes to prices, the strong euro vs. the artificially low kept yen isn't taken into consideration.
Nor the fact that Porsche, MB and BMW can command greater prices.
Or the fact that in Europe, Middle East, SE Asia, Lexus is barely known/unkown with no image-heritage on its side.

I have the book and am reading it. It's a very informative read, and quite pro-german cars, which I don't mind!

Should be interesting to see how well the next generation Lexus, Cadillac, Chrysler and Jeep products are being received by the European car buyers... At least they have to develop their sales network here.

True. To win European customers develped dealer network is needed, and various diesel engines. Lexus needs 6-cylinder diesel engine. 4-cylinder 2.2L is not enough. And mind that most IS vehicles sold in Europe are IS220d !!!

I'm also sure Infiniti, Lexus, Cadillac etc will not go down-market: designing cars like 1er, A3, A-class, since Toyota, Nissan, GM / Opel / Chevrolet cover this part of market very well.

Or?

Yeah, diesels are crucial in the European market. The IS diesel model success should speed up Lexus' other diesel engine projects.
IMO Cadillac can't go more down-market as the BLS is almost just a rebadged Saab 9-3. I actually have no idea how it is selling here in Europe... Still propably not very well?