Porshe, the new image of hybrid?

In the news, I saw that Porsche announced that they were planning on selling out of their most expensive model by December of this year. They made 918 of the 918 Spyder Hybrid model to create an exclusive and desirable sports car. Being priced at $845,000 makes this car the most expensive car that Porsche has ever made. Also, with the battery that it has, buyers could be elligable for a federal tax credit in the United States of about $3,666.

Porsche had actually planned on using the sales revenue from this model to help recover from recent expansions and new buildings. They also used this car to raise their sports car or sedan percentage, specifically in the United States. With the new Macan model and the multiple models, including a hybrid model, of the Cayenne, Porsche was selling mostly SUVs. They wanted to take their brand image back to the sports and speed aspect in which they were originally developed on.

However, when people think of Porsche, they do not think of hybrid. While it is a trend in the car industry to have at least one hybrid model, a car with the reputation that the 918 Spyder has is not one that should be made into a hybrid. Consumers think of speed and power, along with the aesthetic appeal that most Porsche cars have to offer.

Even while I believe that the 918 Spyder was not the correct model to make as their second hybrid car, the exclusivity that they added on to the idea of this car was a smart move. With the Cayennes and Macans hitting the market in America, Porsche was losing their prestige image to the brand. Pricing this new car where it is helped set the tone of how prestige and exclusive they want the brand to be.

Do you think exclusivity is a good enough way to set a prestige image to their brand?

http://news.yahoo.com/porsche-sell-priciest-ever-model-december-152657806–finance.html

18 thoughts on “Porshe, the new image of hybrid?

  1. I think that the orchestrated demand for this car plays a part in the brand image. However, I believe that the price also adds something to the image as well. Not only is it going to be difficult getting a hold of a rare car, but either a buyer has nothing else to spend their money on, or is extremely well off to buy a car with that price tag.

  2. Great post! The car will sell without a doubt. When a known brand, such as Porshe, comes out with a model that is limited in numbers, it’s a sure winner in my eyes. People go crazy over anything that is scarce or limited. It’s a great sales technique.

  3. Interesting post, Porshe is a brand that catches many eyes. You are right when you said that people do not think of hybrid when Porshe is mentioned. With the popularity of porche as it is, now having more hybrid cars i believe people will look more into Porsche and make it’s brand even more popular. Porsche will be around for a while and i believe more hybrids will be made.

  4. Such a unique post! Porsche is on to something; I definitely think by only making a certain amount of Spyder’s it will help with their brand. Although the car is a tad pricy I’m sure many people are still going to try to get their hands on this car. This was a very bold move by Porsche.

  5. Interesting post. I believe that because Porsche is making it an exclusive model people will want to purchase this new model even more. If the model that is not hybrid is pretty popular,the hybrid would be as popular. The outcome should be very interesting.

  6. I would never think of Porsche as a hybrid manufacturer, but times are changing! This post reminded me of Tesla’s new, relatively more affordable model that’s due to come out soon. Even though the price for the hybrid Porsche is a little high, I think it will drive demand for high-end hybrids, simply because of brand recognition.

  7. I remember when I was at a community college studying automotive technology and Porsche happened to be the topic of the day. I clearly remember that we talked about how some people who drive a Porsche are “pricks” but wait there’s more…now that they are hybrids, now they are efficient “pricks”. Great, now that I got that out of my system, let’s talk about what this car is and isn’t:

    First of all, the car looks very awesome and my personal favorite happens to be the silver one with lime green calipers. Although it looks great, the specs on it don’t justify the amazingly high msrp of $845K, NOPE, not even close. According to car and driver, this “hybrid” gets 20 miles per gallon and a whopping 24 miles per gallon on the highway…JAJA…seriously? Either my glasses aren’t working for me today or this is a joke.

    Here’s why.
    I drive a 2001 Nissan Altima SE and I average just about the same miles per gallon and the best pat was that I only paid $3000 about three years ago. So maybe I should go on Ebay and buy me one of those Hybrid logos and slap it on my car πŸ™‚ I should also claim my $3,666 federal tax credit πŸ™‚

    Quite honestly, I can’t name of the top of my head how many celebrities and athletes that drive Porsche. Therefore, I think exclusivity is the right way to approach it because if only 918 were made, then you better believe that some one out there who has a limitless bank account will want one and maybe not even drive it but put it in their car collection.

  8. Great post! In the 7th grade, I fell in love with Porshes (even though I’ll never be able to afford one) so it was really interesting being able to read this post about them. I would have never thought that Porshe would be creating hybrids, but I think that’s a great idea for them to branch out and look into types of cars that more people are getting interested in. I think once people get past the idea that its a Porshe, they will think it’s a presigious product and they will want it. I’m curious to see how it turns out for them!

  9. While exclusivity does indeed make products seem more valuable to the consumer, in this case I believe that the prestige level for Porsche has not really risen because of this model. This model almost seems like a gimmick to keep up with the hybrid trends as you mentioned. I would personally be more excited and would value seeing a Tesla in my garage rather than this Porsche hybrid, and the exclusivity and uniqueness of Tesla, for me, trumps a hybrid version of a luxury sports car.

  10. Very interesting post! I think that exclusivity is a huge part in the perceived value of anything- especially a sports car. I think something priced more similarly to Tesla or Lexus’ recent models would have made a bigger impact on their image as far as green goes (and everyone loves green these days), but I think it is definitely a step in the right direction. Porsche has had a hybrid model available in the past, but not nearly as many were put into production or as popular as the new Spyder Hybrid. Because so many brands are going more and more electric, it was only a matter of time a luxury sports car company like Porsche followed suite. So yes, I think this was a good move by Porsche and I hope they continue to move in this direction.

  11. It is a very interesting article. Porsche Company has been always delivering expensive product, and has been always about the quality more than the quantity. And the exclusivity is what makes Porsche a very successful brand. I believe that sometimes companies try to please everyone of each of their customer, and this process not always can be profitable to the company. Branding is very important to sustain in the business and satisfy the stockholders’ return. Porsche has tried to supply a bigger market, and realized that this is not going to help the company to earn more profit because the cost of running several operations it has raised. I am glad that slowly more organizations are returning to roots and refocusing their strategy and implementation.

  12. Cool post! I love the 911 and I think it will never fade from the prototype of a successful sports car. I also believe that that the Porsche image never really strayed from prestige. At the end of the day they are expensive cars. People who buy Macans and Cayennes are in the market for SUVs, not sports cars. Putting this $845,000 car out is a move for the select few hyper car enthusiasts in the world. The overall Porsche brand definitely took a left turn with the release of SUVs, but I don’t think it changed their exposure to the sports car market. It just opened a new opportunity for capturing the marketshare of middle-upper class soccer moms.

  13. When I think about a hybrid car i the first thing that would come to my mind would be a prious. I personally would never think about spending this amount of money on a hybrid vehicle. A hybrid vehicle is a very silent car, and one the things that make a sports car stand out is their noise. Therefore paying $845,000 for a silent sports car does not make sense to me. Therefore i don’t believe that Porsche is setting a prestige image for themselves by selling a sports car for that amount.

  14. hybrid cars range from toyota to other cars that are economically efficient, a person wanting a sports car and is willing to pay that amount for a 918 or 918 spyder would not like a hybrid, the person would like a gas guzzling v12 and has power and the sound of a extreme sports engine. because the macan and cayenne were hitting markets and porsche was losing its image as these models are not considered prestigious like most people view porsche, it was a wrong move to set the 918 to be a hybrid and not very appealing to sports car enthusiasts, if it wasnt a hybrid and the price offered was the same i think poeple would be more interested and it would maintain its image as a prestige product

  15. I never thought that Porsche would come up with an idea of creating a hybrid-sports car. However, I feel that offering limited number of Hybrid electric sports vehicles would definitely sell without a doubt as people are always looking for anything that is limited. Even with its relatively high price, high net worth individuals will simply buy it just because of the brand recognition.
    I believe that Porsche took a step ahead of its competitors within the luxury sports cars industry by introducing its 918 Spyder Hybrid model.

  16. In my opinion, Porsche will always have a prestige image. Creating a sport hybrid car is a great achievement because it combines its aesthetic style and speed in an environmentally friendly use. Hybrid cars are the future of cars I believe, and being able to still have the aggressiveness of Porsche cars with this friendly use of hybrid makes it even more appealing.

    I think exclusivity is not enough to set a prestige image; it needs much more emphasis on aesthetic, speed and building powerful cars.

    The glitch is that Hybrid cars are more linked to cost reduction and environmentally friendly use so, are people still willing to buy a hybrid car at this expensive price?

  17. The start of 918 Spyder Hybrid made a game changer to Porsche as it’s eco friendly and a Hypercar,, Hypercars are the new Supercars that boasts high HP and unbelievable lap times as they are faster that race cars around the Ring. Porsche in fact after announcing the PDK system Doppelkupplung ; a dual clutch system for amazing shift times and more miles to the gallon.

    The future is now the 918 Spyder is a Manual transmission vehicle that shifts automatically, that itself is mind boggling.

  18. Interesting post especially that I’m a Porsche fan myself and to think that Porsche is developing this car as eco friendly that will give some challenge to other motor industries to change their idea when thinking of developing new cars in the upcoming future. Porsche never stop to amaze us when they developed the 4 door Porsche Panamera and it was considered one of the fastest 4 door Luxury vehicle. The 918 Spyder Hybrid is a limited edition supercar so no wonder that the car will cost about $845,000 which makes it indeed the most expensive car in porsche history but i don’t think that would be an issue for the costumers when they want to buy this car.

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