AMG owners want electric (apparently)

[fabes]

Suppose it must be true.....

The CEO states...

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Suppose it must be true.....

The CEO states...

AMG have surveyed sustainers multiple times over the last 10 years, specifically about electrification, so they do know how their customers views have changed over time.

 

[AMGeed]

Suppose it must be true.....

The CEO states...

I don't believe him.
V8 owners want AMG to continue to use that engine in their cars, not EV's
Surely the take up, or non take up of the 4 pot +electric motor C63 should tell them all they need to know about customer preference.

If there was a vote on this forum of V8 AMG owners I'm betting a huge %age would say no to EV and yes to continuing with V8's.

 

[ALFAitalia]

Yep...sounds like marketing department BS to me......

 

[MSG2004]

The fact is many countries may stop the sale of bran new fossil-fueled cars. Therefore, the CEO has to put his business first. They are not a charity and there to make profits and you can't do that if you can't sell fossil fule cars in certain countries

What I can see happening is that with the battery-powered AMG you will get the soundtracks of big Vengines, that is until the law prohibits this

 

[ALFAitalia]

As it stands only about 40 countries have any plans to ban the sale of new ice cars....leaving about 156 ice car buying countries......

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

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That said, most of our V8 owners, me included, didn’t buy our V8’s new, so we aren’t “the market” for new vehicles. We buy what’s available used. (Usually from people who bought via some tax discount or another)

Roll it back two decades ago and most MB owners said that they wouldn’t be seen dead “driving a diesel.” And what happened? The regulators forced them on us. (Well, you, anyway. I still believe diesels are only suitable for “commercial travellers.”)

I’ve had three decades of EU regulation and I still love the way that whooshing noise as those unrealistic and overambitious deadlines make as they fly by.

They’re get fudged, again, to Germany and France’s advantage.

 

[markjay]

I don't believe him.
V8 owners want AMG to continue to use that engine in their cars, not EV's
Surely the take up, or non take up of the 4 pot +electric motor C63 should tell them all they need to know about customer preference.

If there was a vote on this forum of V8 AMG owners I'm betting a huge %age would say no to EV and yes to continuing with V8's.

I agree. Read this, for example:

"One of the core principles that has made AMG famous is its “one man, one engine” production philosophy. This tradition means that each AMG engine is hand-assembled by a single technician at the company’s Affalterbach facility, giving every engine a unique stamp of exclusivity and quality.

However, this artisanal approach could be at risk with the advent of electric vehicles. Unlike internal combustion engines, electric motors don’t require the same level of craftsmanship or manual assembly that characterizes gasoline engines. This raises questions about how electrification will impact AMG’s legacy and identity in the long term."

The ownership experience just won't be the same. Unless MB can substitute these unique qualities with other equally-unique qualities. Maybe a private tour of a nuclear power plant where electricity is being generated? Or a solar farm, for those who are anti-nuclear? Etc.

 

[markjay]

As it stands only about 40 countries have any plans to ban the sale of new ice cars....leaving about 156 ice car buying countries......

How many of the 156 are in the West? Not everyone is willing to emmigrate to Malaysia for the love of V8 AMGs....

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

I agree. Read this, for example:

"One of the core principles that has made AMG famous is its “one man, one engine” production philosophy. This tradition means that each AMG engine is hand-assembled by a single technician at the company’s Affalterbach facility, giving every engine a unique stamp of exclusivity and quality.

However, this artisanal approach could be at risk with the advent of electric vehicles. Unlike internal combustion engines, electric motors don’t require the same level of craftsmanship or manual assembly that characterizes gasoline engines. This raises questions about how electrification will impact AMG’s legacy and identity in the long term."

The ownership experience just won't be the same. Unless MB can substitute these unique qualities with other equally-unique qualities. Maybe a private tour of a nuclear power plant where electricity is being generated? Or a solar farm, for those who are anti-nuclear? Etc.

Mmm, AMG may sell itself using that “concept,” but I doubt that most AMG owners are relishing only the engine as their justification for ownership.

It’s broader than that. For both MSport and AMG it’s simply become an upmarket styling and differentiation brand. A way of packaging sporty performance (steering, handling, braking), shapes, materials and “differentiators.”

People aren’t purely buying the 600bhp, Owners barely ever experience that 600bhp, or even inflict it on their passengers.

We’ve come a long way in two decades. The IT contractors I used to employ who spent their grand a day on a 2004 £100,000 500bhp SL55’s haven’t switched to buying 450bhp £25k MG4’s because the performance is the same.

 

[markjay]

Mmm, AMG may sell itself using that “concept,” but I doubt that most AMG owners are relishing only the engine as their justification for ownership.

It’s broader than that. For both MSport and AMG it’s simply become an upmarket styling and differentiation brand. A way of packaging sporty performance (steering, handling, braking), shapes, materials and “differentiators.”

People aren’t purely buying the 600bhp, Owners barely ever experience that 600bhp, or even inflict it on their passengers.

We’ve come a long way in two decades. The IT contractors I used to employ who spent their grand a day on a 2004 £100,000 500bhp SL55’s haven’t switched to buying 450bhp £25k MG4’s because the performance is the same.

Agreed.

As I pointed out, for the brand to survive, AMG must come up with an alternative 'unique ownership experience' to that of the V8 and the 'one man one engine' saga behind it.

However, part of the issue is that up to now it was always a trade-off betwen the smooth-and-quiet and the loud-and-fast, with owners able to display their preference to all and sundry by the car they choose.

With EV, the gap in the engine/motor department is getting smaller, and, as both Tesla and MG demonstrated, you can have a quiet smooth-running motor that outperforms a loud V8. Nothing wrong with that, as long as AMG can still offer their customers the 'unique ownership experience' in other areas.

Schiebe is making a valid point by saying that AMG is about the 'technology' in general, and not just the engine, and there's a lot that MB can do with the styling, cabin, dash, etc.