I'm not sure how accurate this piece of news is but I thought I'd share it:
http://www.worldcarfans.com/10909012...of-vw-takeover

Is Piëch really serious about axeing the Cayenne and Panamera?
I think it's a bad sales move even though I'm not a big fan of either.

On the other hand, if this is true, we'll soon see Porsche going back to being a "sports car only" company!

 

When the Cayenne first was launched it was very late to the SUV party . It survived and ended up doing very well . I am not so sure the Panamera has the same potential . 2016 is still quite far in the future.

I think it would have been great to see Porsche chasing the BMW 3 series rather than the larger sedans . They simply need to shrink the Panamera (a minimera) and dress up the rear a bit . In fact if Porsche offered BMW style short term leasing with a huge discount for 911 owners wanting a daily driver when they buy his 911 .. This could really sell well.

Imagine : "buy a 911 , lease a minimera daily driver at 1/2 price"

 

Now that Porsche is part of VW it has some direct competitors for the Cayenne in the Q7 and Tourag. Understanding that they're all related and that made sense in the previous life, maybe 3 in the same family is one too many?

 

It would be extremely odd to axe Panamera after they already invested into entire R&D and production cycles. Even web site already set up to show it in the list of comparison models with all tech specs.

From marketing perspective, well, may be it will find its customers... I would never even think to buy it but plenty of family men would be tempted perhaps - it still has has 5sec 0-60, not a 911 but still, sort of sporty... I do see much more Cayennes on the road than 911s, so folks do buy them it seems.

Honestly speaking I never understood why Porsche started all those oddities - it is like if Ferrari decided to step up into minivan market.

 

Cut the Panamera? Indeed, why launch a luxury sedan in this market? BMW had a simliar project and cut it.
Cut the Cayenne? I'm sure it is the biggest money maker of the whole company. They sell a bunch of the $100k SUVs, which must have huge margins. I bet they don't offer the Cayenne Turbo at 20% off...

 

It would seem that the issue is, as an independent company (Porsche), do you develop models to compete with other companies and keep clients within your marque for all their (upscale) automotive choices?

But as a larger conglomerate (VW), would you develop a more organized, efficient offering among your marques so you are not increasing overhead just to compete for the same customers?

I would guess that a smart VW would want each marque to have more clear, focused clientele so that, overall, as a whole you have a comprehensive offering, allowing each marque to pursue a more separate, clear market segment.