Porsche

The Challenge

Porsche sought to better understand the real-world price variability of vehicles sold directly through its dealer network. While official list prices existed, it was well known that dealers often applied flexibility in final selling prices during negotiations. Porsche wanted to quantify this level of “pricing flex” in practice, and also compare its own dealer behaviours with those of key competitors in the premium segment such as Daimler, BMW, and Audi. This would allow Porsche to assess whether its pricing approach was aligned with market norms — or whether adjustments to strategic pricing thresholds were required.

The Solution

A programme of mystery shopping was designed and executed:

Specially trained shoppers approached Porsche dealers with the clear intent of purchasing a premium model.
The objective was to obtain an official written offer, enabling measurement of the discount or flexibility applied.
The same methodology was mirrored across competitor brands, ensuring a robust benchmarking comparison.
By analysing negotiation tactics and final offers, Porsche gained a granular view of pricing practices across the category.

The Outcome

The results gave Porsche unprecedented visibility into:

The actual levels of pricing flexibility being applied across its own dealer network.
How competitor brands managed discounting and negotiation in a comparable purchase context.
Where Porsche sat competitively in terms of balancing premium positioning with sales conversion.

Armed with this intelligence, Porsche was able to define clear strategic pricing thresholds — ensuring its pricing remained competitive, sustainable, and consistent with the brand’s premium market positioning.

Porsche

The Challenge

The Solution

The Outcome

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