On August 25, Porsche’s best-selling model Macan completed the last remodeling of the fuel car era, because in the next generation of models, the Macan will survive in the form of pure electric.

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With the end of the internal combustion engine era, sports car brands that have been exploring the limits of engine performance are also looking for a new era of docking methods. For example, Bugatti, which was previously incorporated into the electric supercar manufacturer Rimac, will use the latter’s top-notch. The technical capability of electric supercars realizes the brand continuation in the electrification era.

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Porsche, which has deployed hybrid vehicles as early as 11 years ago, is also facing the same problem on the road to full electrification in the future.

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Although the sports car brand based in Stuttgart, Germany released the brand’s first pure electric sports car Taycan last year, and plans to achieve 80% of the sales of pure electric and hybrid models in 2030, it is undeniable that the emergence of electrification The performance gap between brands in the previous internal combustion engine era was evened. In this context, how does Porsche stick to its original performance city?

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More importantly, in this new track, the value of the car brand is quietly deconstructed. With the creation of new differentiated advantages by autonomous driving and intelligent networking, users’ expectations for the value attributes of automobiles have also expanded to demand experience and value-added services. In this case, how does Porsche continue its existing brand value?

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On the eve of the launch of the new Macan, the reporter interviewed Detlev von Platen, a member of Porsche’s global executive board, responsible for sales and marketing, and Jens Puttfarcken, president and CEO of Porsche China. It can be seen from their tone that Porsche hopes to compete with the core of the brand. The power is transmitted to the electrification era, and follow the trend of the times to reshape the brand value.

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1. Continuation of brand characteristics

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“The most important value of Porsche is the brand.” Detlev von Platen said frankly.

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At present, the core competitiveness of automotive products is being reshaped under the impetus of epoch-making brands such as Tesla. The performance gap of cars has been flattened by electrification, forward-looking autonomous driving has brought differentiated competitive advantages, and OTA over-the-air download technology has accelerated The ability to iteratively upgrade cars…These brand-new evaluation systems are refreshing consumers’ inherent perception of brand value.

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Especially for sports car brands, technical barriers such as mechanical technology built in the era of internal combustion engines have approached zero on the same electrified starting line; the new brand value brought by intelligent technology is also affecting sports car brands. The inherent value attributes are being diluted.

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“Currently in the transitional stage of the automotive industry, some well-known brands have declined and disappeared because they did not realize how disruptive changes are taking place, such as customer preferences, new consumer groups, and new competitive formats. “In Detlev von Platen’s view, in order to cope with this change in the competitive environment, Porsche must adapt to the environment, actively change, and shift the brand’s unique value and core competitiveness to the new era. This has also become an important role for the entire Porsche brand and company in the future. Strategic starting point.

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“In the past, people were used to directly linking brands to products. For example, Porsche’s most iconic model product, the 911. Its distinctive handling, performance, sound, driving experience and design made it easy for consumers to associate Porsche with other brands. Differentiate.” Detlev von Platen pointed out, but because high performance is easier to achieve in the era of electric vehicles, consumers’ understanding and definition of luxury concepts are also changing in the new era. Therefore, if Porsche wants to maintain its core competitiveness, it must ” Expand and extend brand management” to ensure that “everyone’s perception of the Porsche brand has always been different from other brands”.

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This is confirmed by Taycan’s user feedback one year after its listing. Judging from the evaluation of the owners that have been delivered so far, this pure electric sports car still does not deviate from the brand characteristics of Porsche. “We see that in the world, especially in China, Taycan has been recognized by consumers as a pure Porsche sports car, which is very important to us.” Detlev von Platen said, and this is further reflected in the level of sales. In the first six months of 2021, the delivery volume of Porsche Taycan has been basically the same as the sales data for the whole year of 2020. In July of this year, Taycan became the sales champion among all-electric models of luxury brands with a price of more than 500,000 yuan in China.

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At present, the trend of transition from internal combustion engine to electrification is irreversible. According to Detlev von Platen, Porsche’s most important job is to transfer the brand essence, sports car spirit, and public trust and recognition of more than 70 years to any subsequent models. On the model.

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2. Extension of brand value

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In addition to the delivery of the core of the product, Porsche is also following up on consumer demand for user experience upgrades in the new era and extending Porsche’s brand value. “As a brand that can maintain emotional links and high stickiness with customers and car owners, Porsche not only delivers a product, but also’delivers’ the pure experience and feelings surrounding the entire Porsche vehicle, including the Porsche community culture and so on.” Detlev von Platen Express.

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It is reported that in 2018, Porsche set up a Porsche Experience Center in Shanghai, which allows users to access Porsche’s sports car and racing culture, and provides a more convenient channel for users to experience the characteristics of the Porsche brand. In addition, as early as 2003, Porsche also launched the Asian Porsche Carrera Cup and the China Porsche Sports Cup, allowing more Chinese sports car enthusiasts and racing enthusiasts to have access to racing cars.

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“Not long ago, we also established Porsche Asia Pacific Racing Trading Co., Ltd. to provide racing customers with more convenience in buying cars. For example, consumers can directly purchase Porsche racing cars and related services through RMB.” Jens Puttfarcken told reporters, “In the future, Porsche It will provide users with more experience opportunities, increase investment and touch points, so that Chinese car owners and consumers have more opportunities to enjoy the Porsche brand.

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A few days ago, Porsche China has also upgraded its organizational structure. The upgraded customer management department will focus on researching customer experience and collecting feedback from these experiences to make improvements. This has become an important component of Porsche’s extended brand value. “Not only that, in the future, we hope that all services can be perfectly integrated with digitalization to create a more extreme brand experience.” Jens Puttfarcken said.

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3. China R&D branch

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Porsche’s reshaping of brand value is not only reflected in the migration of the product core and the update of the whole process user experience, but also in the innovation of cutting-edge technology. At present, the world is undergoing digital transformation. To ensure that brands can follow up with this change, Porsche has decided to set up a research and development branch in China next year. While grasping and predicting the needs of Chinese customers, it will use the Chinese market in smart interconnection, autonomous driving, and digitalization. Experience the advantages of the popularization of cutting-edge technology applications, feedback it to Porsche Global, and promote its own technological innovation.

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“The Chinese market leads the world in terms of innovation, especially in areas such as autonomous driving, unmanned driving, and smart connectivity.” Detlev von Platen said that in order to get closer to the market and consumers with innovative prospects, Porsche decided to conduct in-depth research. China’s mainstream technology development trends and directions, especially in the areas that Chinese consumers care about most, such as digitalization and smart interconnection, and export China’s cutting-edge technologies to further help Porsche’s development in other markets.

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It is reported that Porsche’s R&D branch in China will directly connect with the Weissach R&D center and R&D bases in other regions, and will integrate Porsche Engineering Technology R&D (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. and Porsche (Shanghai) Digital Technology Co., Ltd. through multiple R&D The collaboration of the team will help us understand and meet the needs of the Chinese market more quickly.

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“All in all, we are always optimistic about changes and development. We believe this will encourage us to continue to shape the value of the Porsche brand in the future.” Detlev von Platen said