Page 12 - Rolls Royce, Bentley Mihi Exculta Magazine (Made for Me) - Issue 8, designed and produced by Connell Marketing Associates, UK

MARKETS FEEDER
MARKET
W HEN A BUSINESS publicly
commits itself to growing by SHAPES UP
500% within five years, it needs
to have good reason for such confidence. tomorrow’s customers
need watching
The programme of investment in prod-
uct development and in building awareness
of the Bentley marque is designed to lift
Bentley Motors to its strongest ever posi-
tion. However, growth on this scale means
appealing to consumers who, up until now,
have probably never thought of a Bentley
motor car being relevant to them let alone
desired to own one.

So, just where are those tens of thou-
sands of new customers today?

The good news is that there are increas-
ing numbers of people around the world
looking to their motor cars as a means of
expressing their individuality, their success
and their appreciation of the finer things in
life.

How does this valuable consumer choice
express itself? Simply, sales of those cars
which are positioned just under the high
luxury sector (HLS) category have been on
a sustained, upward trend since 1993.

Defined as the feeder market to the HLS,
this phenomenon emerged in the mid 1990s
and has exhibited spectacular growth when
compared to the total car market.

Looking at the four-door feeder market
first; high performance four-door models
have fuelled four-door sector growth, moving
from world-wide sales of 4080 in 1993 to
8500 in 1998 – a spectacular 108%. These
are embodied by the Mercedes E55, the BMW
M5 and the Jaguar XJR sports identity
models.

The two-door HLS feeder market, repre-
sented by the Mercedes SL500, the Jaguar
XK8 and the Porsche 911 (non-turbo), has
grown by 63% between 1993 and 1998.

During those same years, the world-
wide HLS, however, has been stable at
between 49,000 and 51,000 - a growth of
just 2%.

As this group of people comes of age,
they will be looking to a higher level to
reflect their aspirations which means
making that final jump into the HLS. So,
significant growth in the feeder market and
a clear preference for models with a strong
sports identity provides the cornerstone for
the Bentley marque to build upon. ❖

12 MIHI EXCULTA - April 1999