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AUTOMOBILES
10 Reasons the
German Car Industry
Stays on Top - By Tom De Kadt
SLS AMG GT
Why are German cars so good? It’s a question
many have asked. The US car industry, emerging
from a major slump, is asking it. With Cadillac
looking to re-establish itself as the world’s
number one premium car brand, its owner,
General Motors, will have to come up with some
pretty good metal to compete with German car
makers not willing to relinquish their top spots.
And that top spot is to be the world’s number-one
premium car brand.
The likes of Jaguar and Lexus, among others,
are newly energised, ambitious and keen to be
number one. To succeed, these car makers must
replicate the same combination of production
costs, labour and manufacturing processes that
combine to make such a formidable industry. And
let’s not forget: they must also create the sort of
good quality, attractive and popular motors that
German car makers do relentlessly.
What it is that makes the German car industry
the envy of other car makers – you could call it
the ‘essence’ of German cars – to keep making
cars that drivers love to own and drive. This
question was recently asked by iconic US investor
magazine, Forbes. And the magazine asked it with
one eye on its own US car industry which, despite
the huge volumes that General Motors is once
again producing, has never quite been able to
match the mystique which German cars exude.
First, let’s be clear who we are talking about -
and there’s more to it than just the fabled rivalry
between Mercedes and BMW. Mercedes-Benz
cars is but one component – albeit a very special
one - of the Daimler AG parent company. Daimler’s
brands include AMG and Smart, as well as a whole
host of buses, trucks and parts manufacturers.
Daimler’s most recent profit was $4.5 billion (Dh
16.5 billion) in 2010.
Last year, the conglomerate celebrated its 125th
anniversary since the invention of the automobile
on 29 January 1886, by its founding fathers, Karl
Benz and Gottlieb Daimler. In the Middle East,
last year saw some of the highest sales figures
Mercedes has ever achieved.
BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe, the company’s first 4 Door coupe
During a global economic downturn, how can
this be? Perhaps it has something to do with the
products. These include an upgraded CGI engine
version of the flagship S-Class; an aesthetically
enhanced C-Class, the Middle East launch in Beirut
of the C-Class Coupe, not to mention a new SLK
Roadster. The icing was blasted off the one-anda-quarter-century
birthday cake by the ferocious
BMW i3 and i8 concept car by BMW will go into production in 2013
convertible version of its breakthrough gullwing
sports car, the SLS AMG Roadster. In the car-loving
Middle East, the world’s first car maker’s place
is assured.
BMW is unique among German carmakers for
being a privately-owned company, with the Quant
family owning more than half of the company.
Founded in 1916, in 2010, BMW made $3.2 billion
(Dh 11.7 billion) in profit. Subsidiaries include Mini
and Rolls-Royce.
Any talk of BMW, regularly touted as one of the
world’s most reputable brands, resting on its laurels
is premature. In February 2011, the BMW Group
launched its dramatic new sub-brand, BMW i.
As BMW looks to the future, the i3 and i8 will be
launched next year and will mark a seismic shift
in motoring trends. The BMW i8 is an amazing
combination of looks, fuel efficiency, plug-in
hybridity and high performance, and with a
passenger cell made from carbon. The fabled
rivalry looks set to continue and BMW has some
world-beating products to take into combat.
Like its two main competitors, Audi was founded
more than 90 years ago, but has only recently come
to rival the other big two, Mercedes and BMW. And,
in so doing, it is perceived as the new kid on the
block, so that the old two-way rivalry has become
a three-way battle for premium car supremacy. In
2011, Audi made $5.3 billion (Dh 19.5 billion) profit.
Like Mercedes and BMW, Audi owns a host of
brands, including Lamborghini, Ducati and design
house, Giugiaro. By 2015, Audi plans to increase
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