Perils Of Success

How do you improve on a product that’s already the fastest-selling vehicle you’ve manufactured in your 70-year history? It’s an unenviable challenge that Porsche faces with the latest version of its best-selling SUV – the Macan.

- Ishan Raghava

Success can often be a double-edged sword – even more so if it’s in relation to a product that’s exceeded all expectations since its launch. Before I go any further, let’s rewind a bit. The year was 2002, and Porsche traditionalists – who are very loyal to the brand – were up in arms about Porsche’s first SUV, the Cayenne.

Why? Well, to the traditional customer, for the maker of one of the finest, most reliable and instantly recognisable sports cars in the world – the Porsche 911 – to manufacture an SUV was symptomatic of succumbing to the pressure of popular demand, which they felt was sacrilege and against everything that Porsche stood.

Porsche, however, knew that to survive in a fast-evolving world, they had no choice but to keep up with changing customer preferences.

Stunning success

Back to the present day, and the sales figures of Porsche’s line-up today is something that most Porsche purist would have found completely unimaginable two decades ago. Sure, there’s the 911 and the Boxster / Cayman duo that continues to shape the soul of the brand. But, the real growth of Porsche over the past two decades came from two SUVs – the Cayenne and the Macan. Over the past 5 years, the Macan alone sold over 400,000 units – something that Porsche couldn’t possibly have dreamt of during its sports-cars-only phase.

Now, back to my original predicament. You see, the success of a product like the Macan can be very tricky, for it’s easier to fall than to rise even higher, especially given the intense competition in the segment. And therein lies the challenge – to improve something that doesn’t have much room for improvement. A difficult task indeed!