We may have hit “peak variant” after all the special editions, turbos and four-door coupes in the luxury car market.
With the explosion in premium-branded vehicles comes the issue that automakers such as Porsche, BMW and Audi make too many models for people to understand, let alone for dealers to stock. And now there may be a retreat going on.
According to Bloomberg, Porsche is capping its 911 variants at 22 with the introduction of the new 911 GTS models. And some BMW dealers can’t even stock all of the models offered by the company, so they’ve turned to “virtual presentations” for some of the cars on offer.
Not all automakers have received the memo, though. Mercedes-Benz just changed its naming structure in such a way that leaves the door open for future variants. Audi, meanwhile, is also poised to increase its 50-strong model lineup.
With a shift to modular platforms and more flexible production methods, automakers can more easily make different variants of existing models. But is the demand really there?
By Zac Estrada
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