Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche: top 10 reasons why Germans remain the ruling party

By David Zalstein | July 05th, 2012

FIND DEALS

Achtung! For those who have wondered why German brands Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche continue to reign supreme in automotive circles, Fortune has compiled a list of the top 10 unique advantages the black, red and yellow have over their rivals.

1. Historical roots: With the first internal combustion engine being developed by Karl Benz in the 1870s and it being fitted to a coach in 1887 and BMW beginning its car-making legacy in 1928 – the Germans revere their cars and always have, and customers respect that.

2. The value of racing: Fortune says no country has a racing heritage like Germany. Not even Italy. From the ‘silver arrow’ Auto Union and Mercedes cars of the 1930s to iconic drivers like Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss and Michael Schumacher the Germans have it covered. They even lay claim to the most famous, and equally feared, circuit in the world, ‘The Green Hell’ – the Nurburgring. To have brands associated with a background like this is invaluable.

3. The autobahns: Almost 13,000km of speed-limit-free autobahns and cars designed and manufactured to take advantage of the fact is repeated nowhere else in the world. The Germans know how to do speed.

4. Brand strength: Clarity, commitment, authenticity, and relevance sets the Germans apart from the competition. Everybody knows and understands what Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche are all about and the fact that all four marques rank among the world’s top global brands (the most from any single country) shows it.

5. Engineering and technology: Germany is a country that holds engineering and technology in high regard and professionals in those fields in much esteem so its no surprise to see the letters ‘D’ and ‘r’ attached to the CEOs of German manufacturers. This level of focus and dedication to core principles resonates with buyers.

6. Picking markets: People in countries with developing economies want to buy German cars and German brands continue to make cars that those people want. Fortune says May 2012 saw Audi sales rise 44.2 per cent in China as BMW rose 31.5 per cent.

7. Arrogance with purpose: With tag lines like “The best or nothing”, “The ultimate driving machine” and “There is no substitute”, the Germans have always been the first to spruik their credentials but Fortune believes this is valid, quoting a Zurich newspaper that once said cars are as central to Germany as secret bank accounts are to Switzerland. The Germans may seem arrogant to a degree but when they keep delivering on it, who can argue?

8. The status of price: German brands are in the realm of costing a certain premium amount with the intended purpose of having to spend that amount to own one. From extensive, and expensive, options lists to increasingly pricey model variants, Fortune suggests buyers of German cars love to complain about the costs of their purchases so those who can’t afford such luxuries understand just how deep their pockets are.

9. Bathing in exclusivity: German brands are renowned for limited editions, special editions, commemorative editions and low volume rarities. From Mercedes’ Black series and Porsche GT2 RS to the BMW CSL and M3 GTS, German brands are experts at fashionably restricted.

10. Being the benchmark: Who can really go up against these German powerhouses and finish in anything other than second place? Quality, dynamics, performance, heritage, aura, Fortune believes no other brands can match the elite on all fronts consistently. And that’s why Fortune thinks German cars rule the road.

What do you think? Is Fortune right or has it missed the mark?

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PIZZA

Note: VW not included.
- Dudeface
  
  Lol
  
  Except Audi (and very recently, Porsche) are part of the Volkswagen Auto Group…
- JD
  
  yes the VW competes with Toyota in Europe.
  - F1MotoGP
    
    Toyota is doing OK in Europe but VW competes with Ford, Renault, Peugeot in Europe. In April 2012 VW sold 142,905 cars, Toyota 41,766, Ford 82,849, Renault 76,490, Peugeot 71,686, Opel 70,184, Audi 62,565, Citroen 61,661, Fiat 57,977, BMW 56,477, Mercedes 51,242, Skoda 42,531, Hyundai 37,665, Nissan 31,071, Lexus 2,014.
David

This article makes many valid points – especially point 10. While some brands can match the germans in certain areas no one can consistently deliver like they do on all fronts.
Al

How about:
1. Reliability (most Australians would agree the Japanese can claim this)
2. Value-for money (Fortune is US-based, yes? German cars are relatively more expensive here)
Al

How about:
1. Reliability (most Australians would agree the Japanese can claim this)
2. Value-for money (Fortune is US-based, yes? German cars are relatively more expensive here)
- Smart US
  
  exactly – all the accolades are coming from countries where german cars are much cheaper… and yes more sensible option… if you have $25k for Ford or $30k for Audi… then they got u thinking… However Lexus has proven to be the most popular in USA coz its cheaper and offers more specs…
  - F1
    
    Lexus & the Germans are pretty much the same entry price these days, in some cases the Germans are even cheaper..
    
    But when you option any of the Germans to match the Lexus specification then thats when the price of the Germans skyrocket past Lexus..
    
    And there’s also tge reliability and service which Lexus is the best n the industry..
    - F1MotoGP
      
      You are right but Germans do not care about Lexus. In May only 25 IS was sold, BMW 3 series 7,052 and Mercedes C class 6,959.
      - Smart US
        
        in Oz or USA – Lexus is not very competitive here but in USA it makes much more sense to go Lexus…
      - F1MotoGP
        
        In Germany
      - Phil
        
        @4e15a7e2719e397c2154146d8a9c34d5:disqus In Germany? No surprises there. If you took a look at Japan’s domestic sales figures, you’d see a similar skew towards Japanese brands.
      - Boost2
        
        Protectionism and nationalism. The European car industry is heavily protected, otherwise how would car companies like FIAT and Renault for example would still remain in business. To guage the sale performance, check out the unbiased USA car market.
      - F1MotoGP
        
        US car industry just as heavily protected or more than some EU car companies. After GFC US government put billions in to US car industry. If they would not there would be no US car industry today.
      - H1
        
        In the US, both BMW and Lexus are foreign.
        
        In the Germany, Lexus is foreign.
      - Phil
        
        The Germans certainly care about Lexus in the US market.
Force-15

I’m pretty sure this list has done the rounds on some other motoring sites this week. Still, it should be interesting to watch this comment thread flame up once the Europhiles and VW-haters get on board. Time to get some popcorn…
- ggg
  
  VW haters? Lol, VW wasn’t even mentioned.
Rightindicators

Interesting, this article only focuses on the high end premium market. No wonder GM can’t get premium pricing for its OPEL brand. OPEL is a German brand but tarred with the GM reputation.
- Smart US
  
  opel did not need GM to get f%^& opel was always german as Adam Opel is – but they were always just as good as lottery… w GM they got a bit of more funding to keep afloat but they are still just a budget brand in EU as Seat or Skoda
Lbrinsmead

Germans do premium and luxury very well, people who buy German cars don’t expect utmost reliability (compared to the most reliable from Japan), though they would definitely appreciate it.
- Jax_pax1
  
  Yes we do expect utmost reliability from German cars & that’s exactly what I got from four German cars over 17 yrs.
- Mmfrancis
  
  I have owned 7 BMW’s since 1989, covered 650000 km and had one warranty claim.
  This was covered in full even though vehicle was 6 mths past warranty closed.
  Any wonder they are rated the best, I do too.
  - JooberJCW
    
    I have stories of people having the opposite. You will always get a batch of good and bad with cars. not every model from a lineup particularly when they a batched will be as good or as bad as the other.
    - John of Perth
      
      If you look under the skin of even Japanese/French/Scandanavian offerings there are some core companies missing from this list – Bosch, ZF, Getrag and other component manufacturers such as Bilstein, Koni, Hella etc. These are all world class companies in their own right and underpin much of the engineering of the major German auto producers.
      
      The smarts that Bosch produces is world beating that almost all companies license or use their technology from ECUs to ABS to ESP to diesel. ZF and Getrag need no introduction.
      
      The simple reason – thoughtful and innovative engineering study, design and manufacturing bordering on perfection which is simply part of German DNA.
AndyGF

Whats the bet half of the people here, who say “at least my jap car is reliable, cheaper, got more options, sensible, etc”; choose their spouses on a calculator…

Hmmm, lets see…
1. Barbie’s a nice personality +2, shes funny +0.5 but she likes a good restaurant -3, and my friends like her -4, both my bloke friends and lady friends like her -6. *mumble mumble* whats that now *mumble* -9.5. Heh!
2. Sharon cleans up well +2, shes reliable +5, she does not use too much juice +2, but shes damn ugly -1. *mmmm calculating… please wait* 8! Well I guess sharon it is then… *chortle*
- JooberJCW
  
  Not everyone has a disposable income to or want to shell out something not life critical.
  
  Plus many people live on the rule: A car is a bad investment. – thats definately a calculator moment.
  - AndyGF
    
    Totally Disagree; If you NEED a car, its the greatest investment in the world!
    
    But justifying them on the options, reliability, or personal vendetta (often based on unoriginal experience). Just means you paid ALL that money – cause it still isn’t cheap, and your still not driving what you really WANT to drive – and that is definitely a calculator moment…
    - JooberJCW
      
      Hence why I said many not all,
      
      How many people NEED a car over just NEEDING a more convenient mode of transport. plus… no typical car appreciates in value either. Many mundane people can easily live of PT, company car, cycling, motorbikes and save money and put into a house/shares etc…
kkk

Just get a VW, you get apart of Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Seat, Skoda and VW~ that is almost every brand across Europe. Did I miss any?
- Johno
  
  And a lot of trip on the back of a tow truck
  - F1MotoGP
    
    Heard this. Come up with something new.
  - Rasbomba
    
    I got a vw golf and I worship it. No problems at all for 14 years. Normal servicing.
- Smart US
  
  Duccati
Schn

This article has many valid points. I agree, with many, but they have omitted a few obvious strengths of other car makers that many consumers go for when buying cars. In my opinion, however, it sort of used to be just Mercedes and BMW as be at the top of luxury cars, and Audi wasn’t exactly up there some times, yet they have continually become better and now are up there. So in my opinion, the Japanese, Koreans and every other car company can become a so called ‘ruling party’ in the future.
Smithy

Mercedes Benz owns 90 % of the worlds automotive patents.
The great majority of innovations that have significantly advanced the motor car during the past century have come from the Germans.
There’s no question they rule the roost.
They lead, the others follow…that’s an obvious fact that won’t change any time soon.
- F1
  
  Perhaps.. But Japan owns by far the most patents in the world..
  
  More then the entire European Continent combined + South Korea
  - gcord374
    
    gfy please. or just chug drano.
- moonie
  
  You’ll find just about everything invented on the car (cars, engines, suspension) originated in France. The Germans were too busy fighting wars, the British were caught up in legislation and the Americans in a patent suit. Everywhere else was too poor, sparsely populated or dumb.
  - Guest_pest1
    
    You must be french or on drugs to believe such nonsense.
    Loony Moonie perhaps ?German inventions/ patents just for car engines iesel engine= Rudolf Diesel 4 stroke petrol engine = Nikolaus Otto Rotary Engine = Felix Wankel Petrol / Electric Hybrid = Ferdinand Porsche
    - Rasbomba
      
      The Germans are 10 years ahead of every car manufacturing company. My 1998 golf 4 has disc back brake and I only see this in 2012 Toyota corrola. Germans are far advanced than any country combined. The rest are jealous
  - Michael Lock
    
    Why are people fooled into believing patents have been something good for world innovations, if you have the big money you steal their ideas, people and research then ‘demand’ a world wide patent so you can ‘own’ that technology. People then are unable to go near it or improve on it reducing the future amount of investments, patents need to have an expiry date (5 – 10 years) and should not hinder products that may have used the original as a base but have made ‘substantial’ improvements on the original design.
    If the world worked like this we would be much further down the road than having to use ICE powered vehicles and Windows powered computers. It is no good for anyone except the few obtaining a patent and then just sitting back for decades expecting never ending flow of money to keep coming in without the need to continually improve on design, form and function.
Fred

When I bought a Lexus my mother said “That’s a nice car”.
When I bought a Mercedes she said “I’m so proud of you”!
- Smart US
  
  fred is a mama boy… and mama is a little old fashioned…
- Gus
  
  she said followed by ‘SEIG HEIL’ with extended arm gesture
- H1
  
  When I bought a Rolf for my mum, in the back of my head I knew she might get stranded.When I bought a Hyundai for my mum, I did not worry too much.
Fred

Small point about the “iconic drivers”… Neither Moss nor Fangio were German. And Schumacher won all his championships in Italian cars.
- Josuurien
  
  Noooo, Benetton was Italian-Owned but UK based, and later become the Renault F1 team, yes Flavio Briatore is italian but the team never has been. The 94 was Ford (Cosworth) engined and the 95 was Renault engined.
  - Fred
    
    Benetton (like many non-British teams including Mercedes) was based in the UK. It was Italian-owned (by the Benetton family) throughout until sold to Renault in 2000. The license was originally British but transferred to Italy in 1996 (after Schu had won three championships). So all Schu’s championships were in Italian-owned cars.
    - Reckless1
      
      And why is that a problem? Germany owns Italy and pretty much owns the rest of Europe too.
Josuurien

By the way it is a Fortune Magazine article, in the past they said that Toyota will crush the Germans, didn´t happen, and Honda was the best engineering-centric car company in the world, and now, sadly, is a pale resemblance of its past. So have fun, Germans will decline as everybody.

To be fair I love Mercedes and BMW. Mercedes of the 70s and 80s are my favourites hands-down, and in current models the 3-series coupe and the 5-series are fantastic. But after the germans decide to screw us, spaniards, inoccent or guilty, for what is happening in the euro-zone. My money would go to Jaguar or Maserati if I were in the market for a luxury car, if I were for a sports car Ferrari and Mclaren would get my euros, and if I were for a standard car a Kia would be my first choice. And, by the way, I wouldn´t have any problem giving a try to that ATS from Cadillac if the price is right.
- Aus_poppa
  
  Have a look at so many countries, first, second, or third world and what car makes up the backbone of the world’s taxi fleets? Mercedes! High mileage seemingly indestructable Mercs. People notice this.
  - moonie
    
    They use Kias in the Phillipines and Protons in Malaysia, so it appears high reliability is not a necessity for taxis.
    - gti
      
      Philippines and Malaysia are also relatively poor countries, so understandably they want cheaper cars. Protons are also made in Malaysia, so they are also protecting their local industry.
- Jax
  
  …as a Spaniard, surely you should be thankful for the billions of Euro that the Germans have invested into your traditionally weak & low tech economy.
  Or perhaps you just want hand-outs & money for nothing from the hard working German taxpayer.
  - Josuurien
    
    Sorry Jax but you know me? you have any idea of my financial behavior?
    
    I have a net worth positive, and my savings rate EVER have been bigger that germany rate on average. My best friend is a real estate developer and since 2002 I have been warning him about the real estate bubble. But that don’t mean that I, having had a correct and sane financial behavior must pay bigger taxes to pay the excesses of something that Germans knew but didn’t show to much problem with it as long as “lazy-spaniards” spent their loans in their products.
    
    I just don’t want to pay the party because I am in the bad side of the border, so if Germans don’t have to pay the party, true. Why I have to pay it?
    
    The hard-saving guy that must pay the party is me, not the Germans. and I have to pay because the Germans associate Spanish=bad.
    
    By the way, in the balance of trade between Spain and Germany since the euro is positive to germany, so the billions have gone form here to there, including structural funds approved by the EU. So the real flow is from Spain to Germany. Because Germans make better products, yes, but also because the euro lock the exchange rate and created a trade hinterland that let’s is bigger productivity economic structure kill off the spanish industry.
    
    Sorry if my reply is offensive to you.
    - Jax
      
      It”s not offensive at all.
      But maybe you should be blaming your government instead of the Germans.
      They are elected to serve & protect the Spanish people, no ?
ABCDEFG

1. Historical roots: Exept for marketing purposes, this is irrelevant. A company that makes TV 50 years ago can’t bring over any of those old technologyies to the modern high tech plasma/lcd/led TV. Furthermore, most of the parts in the car are bought off the shelf from car parts suppliers like Bosch, Denso, Federal Mogul, Delco, Motorcraft, etc.

2. The value of racing: Again this is mostly for marketing especially something for the fanbois to brag out. You have heard of the marketing saying “race on Sunday sell on Monday”. The only good thing I can think of that could come out of it is reliability and durability. But then again German cars aren’t reliable and their cars will be even less durable due to their wide spread usage of small turbo engines and clunky DSG transmissions.

3. The autobahns: Aus, the US and most of the other countries don’t have 250kmh autobahns. To use a car with suspension that is tuned for 250kmh in countries (Aus, US, etc) where it’s driven at around 80kmh 99% of the time is bad for ride and handling. Even race cars going from high speed race tracks to low speed race tracks got to adjust their suspensions accordingly.

4. Brand strength: Fanbois love it

8. The status of price: A BMW or Porsche is not as “luxurious” in the US or Europe as it is in Aus as those cars are around 1/2 to 1/3 the price over there. Example, the BMW’s 3 or 5 series are competitors with the Acura TSX (Honda Accord Euro) in the US.

All the other items are questionable. Yes Germany cars are good (with mediocre reliability at best if not poor and expensive parts and servicing). But at those kind of mega dollar$ prices in Aus, they are rubbish.
- Smart US
  
  great write up
- AndyGF
  
  LOL…
  
  So when something comes along that has no history, never been pushed in competition, can make claims about its maximum performance yet has no basis for a comparison or ability to deliver on its claims, is unbranded, and is ridiculously cheap.
  
  You say YES, sign me up?
  
  Many a entrepreneur would love to believe you. But I dont…
- Guest
  
  A classic display of sheer ignorance, prejudice & just a plain dumb ass.
  You’ve just admitted you’ve never owned or driven a German car.
- F1MotoGP
  
  Car companies learn a lot from motor racing like F1, 24h Le Mans or 24h Nurburgring. Raing is the place you try out new things what you can not do for production cars.From disk brakes to DI engines, seat belt all was used and tried in motor racing. It is very cheap way to try out if it will work.
- JooberJCW
  
  The point is its ALL BRAND AND MARKETING, its the perception its peers have of them, the consumers and the whole world, historical events and achievements play a big part tempering that brand value.
  
  Even if APPLE released a car it will possibly be successful too, purely it has the Brand image to do so.
AOK

I just love it when Mazda beats the Germans in Germany for customer satisfaction and reliability…see JD Power..
- F1MotoGP
  
  I do not know where you get this or which year but I checked JD Power website and Germany 2012 result is: Source autos jdpower
  1 Mercedes
  2 Toyota
  3 Mitsubishi
  4 Mazda
  5 BMW
  6 VW
  7 Skoda
  8 Audi
  9 Volvo
  10 Ford
  - Phil
    
    Mitsubishi is so high up?? Huh???
  - lbrinsmead
    
    Interesting, where’s Honda?
    - F1MotoGP
      
      11 Honda
      12 Hyundai
      13 Seat
      14 Nissan
      15 Opel
      16 Renault
      17 Kia
      18 Suzuki
      19 Peugeot
      20 Smart
      21 Fiat
      22 Dacia
      23 Citroen
      24 Alfa Romeo
      25 Chevrolet
      
      Top 3 models per segment
      City car: Ford Ka, Toyota Aygo, Fiat 500
      Small car: Toyota Yaris, Mitsubishi Colt, Mazda 2,
      Lower medium car: Mercedes B, Mazda 3, Toyota Auris
      Upper medium: Mazda 6, Toyota Avensis, Passat CC
      Compact Executive car: Mercedes C, BMW 3, Audi A4
      Executive Luxury: Mercedes E, Audi A6, BMW 5
      MPV: Toyota Verso, VW Golf Plus, VW Touran
- F1MotoGP
  
  Just do not believe in JD Power results. Ranking is done by 24% comes from Quality/Reliability, 27% Vehicle Appeal, 25% Ownership cost and 23% Service Satisfaction.
moonie

Cos the Nazis had the sexiest suits.

By “German” you mean assembled in Germany from Chinese parts don’t you ?
- Guest
  
  Moonie the Loony.
- lbrinsmead
  
  My suspicion is that VW’s reliability has increased slightly in the past few years because many of the parts are now made in China by cheap, efficient and more importantly, more reliable factory workers.
Mike

Germany has excellent engineering schools, free for everyone but very tough to get through. The German car manufacturers all score extremely well as desired workplace destinations for those engineering graduates. German car companies are usually run by engineers, not accountants and salespeople.
poindexter

Oh, and the flag is Black, Red and Gold, not yellow