Porsche puts pressure on VW Group, Bugatti the first casualty?
Newswheel staff :: 28 November 2006 :: Filed under Audi, Bugatti, Porsche, Volkswagen, Europe & UK, US
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Beleaguered Bug
What to make of the Volkswagen Group’s current predicament? Well, it’s certainly interesting times, what with head honcho Bernd Pischetsrieder recently given the chop, a business model currently buckling under the strain of fratricidal brand proliferation and Porsche slowly but surely sinking in its claws. Indeed, it’s the latter that’s at the centre of the latest news concerning the future of the most elevated badge in the VW empire. Reportedly, Bugatti’s plans for a new entry level model have been torched by Porsche…
That the German sports car outfit doesn’t fancy competition from another VW group brand isn’t terribly surprising. And if a report in Car Magazine regarding CEO Wendelin Wiedeking’s intervention is true, it’s likewise no shock to find Porsche leveraging its recent acquisition of a large chunk of VW shares. But it does highlight the strategic quagmire the VW Group finds itself.
Audi doody
Quite apart from the baffling proliferation of samey products at the heart of the VW range (Golf, Golf Plus or Touran, anyone?), the company has also tied itself in knots at the premium end of its product range. It will be fun, for instance, to observe the careful balancing act Audi will have to perform with the new R8 supercar over the next few years. Despite the its careful positioning between the 911 and Gallardo, the R8 will undoubtedly tread on both Lamborghini and Porsche’s toes in the long run. Likewise, it’s hard to see how the Bugatti brand can ever be a real goer unless it pitches its sports and luxury cars against Bentley and Lamborghini.
And make no mistake, Bugatti desperately needs to offer a more realistic machine than the mega-money Veyron, a car that is widely reported to be a loss maker. If Bugatti is ever to be more than an expensive and irrelevant loss leader for the entire VW group, a car that can be sold in much higher numbers than the Veyron is essential. Problem is, Porsche’s solution for the beleaguered Bug apparently involves bespoke coach-building work. Despite the recent efforts of one Henrik Fisker, that’s not a niche many would associate with free flowing profits.
Moreover, one has to wonder just how many exciting projects are currently at risk from the burgeoning battle of VW-associated brands? Might the much-rumoured Lamborghini SUV/crossover vehicle (allegedly based on Audi’s new modular ‘MLB’ platform technology) be exterminated by the ever-vigilant Wiedeking? Or perhaps the R8 will be given an early bath or prevented from being upgraded to V10 power. And as for the rumoured Audi R4 mid-engined sports car, don’t count on that being given the green light by the ever more influential Porsche.
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