Nachdem Volkswagen erstmals Werkschließungen in Deutschland nicht ausschließt, bangen die Mitarbeiter in Niedersachsen um Arbeitsplätze. Arbeitsminister Heil sagte, es müssten alle Standorte gesichert werden.
Corporate suits happened. They got the idea to only sell the brand “made in Germany” instead of the quality products that made this label an internationally recognised brand in the first place.
misjudging overseas markets is a very big mistake.
take the diesel scandal with vw for example:
vw never bothered to clean up its image in the eye of american customers. those people are not like germans. those guys vote with their wallets. in germany, you just make up a lot of bullshit, release countless scientific papers and PR pieces, have a little bit of pointless law suits, and after 5 years, no one bothers.
that shit doesnt fly in usa. peope were OUTRAGED. and whats worse, they felt deceived.
and german car makers dont get that. like they didnt get that people bought their cars because of germanies image of outstanding engeneering.
they destroyed that image.
never bite the hand that feeds you.
as for the german market:
no cars for middle class moms, young people that have a little bit of money for a tiny car, young families without money and so on.
young people with out money are your future brand loyal customers for the big cars.
so, young people without money will buy an import car, or an electric scooter.
there you have it. eroding customer base is big mistake.
VW was world renowned for making affordable quality cars, but at some point, they switched to selling only their reputation on the international premium market. Now their lack of backing up that reputation with products that live up to it in order to maximise profits is biting them on the arse.
It might have something to do with a drastic change in car manufacturers’ management culture in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In the past, it was typical for a car manufacturer’s CEO to have an engineering background and know well what’s making their money, nowadays it’s just a bunch of face and brainless MBA suits who would sell their own grandmother to make line go up.
that last part never occured to me, but it makes a lot of sense. like in that ford movie, when ford was really interested in that whole race car thing. that enthusiasm doesnt exist anymore.
Corporate suits happened. They got the idea to only sell the brand “made in Germany” instead of the quality products that made this label an internationally recognised brand in the first place.
misjudging overseas markets is a very big mistake.
take the diesel scandal with vw for example:
vw never bothered to clean up its image in the eye of american customers. those people are not like germans. those guys vote with their wallets. in germany, you just make up a lot of bullshit, release countless scientific papers and PR pieces, have a little bit of pointless law suits, and after 5 years, no one bothers.
that shit doesnt fly in usa. peope were OUTRAGED. and whats worse, they felt deceived.
and german car makers dont get that. like they didnt get that people bought their cars because of germanies image of outstanding engeneering.
they destroyed that image.
never bite the hand that feeds you.
as for the german market:
no cars for middle class moms, young people that have a little bit of money for a tiny car, young families without money and so on.
young people with out money are your future brand loyal customers for the big cars.
so, young people without money will buy an import car, or an electric scooter.
there you have it. eroding customer base is big mistake.
Yes, they brought this on themselves.
VW was world renowned for making affordable quality cars, but at some point, they switched to selling only their reputation on the international premium market. Now their lack of backing up that reputation with products that live up to it in order to maximise profits is biting them on the arse.
It might have something to do with a drastic change in car manufacturers’ management culture in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In the past, it was typical for a car manufacturer’s CEO to have an engineering background and know well what’s making their money, nowadays it’s just a bunch of face and brainless MBA suits who would sell their own grandmother to make line go up.
that last part never occured to me, but it makes a lot of sense. like in that ford movie, when ford was really interested in that whole race car thing. that enthusiasm doesnt exist anymore.