Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Plus Four, Supersport & Plus Six (CX & CXV Generation Vehicles) The Pinnacle - yawn

I just wonder as you move the product further upmarket, with more discerning and potentially more demanding ,customers not only will the product have more competition / comparison at each price point, but also the environment will have to move increasingly upmarket to convey that anticipation of the experience. of ownership.. Whilst we have seen much improvement in the dealership facilities over the years, they are still along way away from what you would expect in a Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, Bentley dealership.

So as Morgan move forward, and with it the price points and exclusivity of the range, what impact will that have on the current dealership network, will they be able to cater for a potentially very different clientele and will they want us flat cappers in the mix. Will they start to centre sales on the Malvern experience centre type of facility and rationalise the current dealerships even further, who may not have the finances, infrastructure and facilities to meet the needs of the emerging client base.

There will come a time when there will be dealers for the heritage range of Morgans, and a few high end dealers who take on the halo product along with whatever else they sell. In the end the numbers can only be small, and even with bullet proof reliability, this market is limted.

I am not an expert in business management. I see three possible directions. Either a sideways movement with a completely different looking model at the price of the Plus Six. Or an even more expensive car with the performance of the Plus Six. Or a 4/4 is added to the portfolio in the price segment below the Plus Four. But people who know more about business management than I do have repeatedly pointed out here that a smaller model would not deliver the necessary returns, not in terms of a great profit but not even for existence. I am not in a position to judge. The brand, potential new entrants to the Morgan world, existing customers who are wealthy but not very rich and the dealer network would all benefit from a new 4/4

My dealer told me that a small engine like the ecoboost will not change the price much lower.

One major reason that Morgan has survived is that they've seldom had any direct competitors, and thus have appealed to those who look for something outside the mainstream.

Trad. road tests were invariably critical of the suspension but usually concluded that there was nothing quite like a Morgan and that it had a certain something that you couldn't find anywhere else.

Now that the company is no longer family owned, one aspect that made them "special" has been removed. Certainly it was something that was usually referenced in a positive way in most articles/road tests.

The only way they will survive long term, as an independent, is if they remain substantially different from their potential "competitors" so that direct comparison is avoided.

Just looking at production figures of the long door trads from 1997 is illuminating. All "approximate" figures..

4/4......4,550

Plus 4.......2,150

Plus 8 to 2004..... 1,260

Roadster from 2004........2.300

Aero Plus 8 2012-2019 ....356

Aero 2001-2019............1,040

Draw your own conclusions. The factory survived on these numbers though!

Dave, these are completely understandable production figures. It makes it clear that MMC is in a dilemma, I hope and wish for the best.

Me too

A very interesting thread and many great points being touched on.

In regards to a 4/4 or model slotted below the Plus Four, I think this would have made a lot more sense when they laughed the CX. The CX since launch has gone up significantly in price so a '4/4' wouldn't be much less expensive than what the Plus Four was a few years ago. I personally love the current iteration of the Plus Four and in person it feels and looks more upmarket than when they first launched. Again, my personal view...

I've mentioned it a few times, and John Harris just touched on it, the market MMC wants to attract needs to have the full package: product, retail experience, aftercare etc. Sadly, I personally don't think it's quite there. Having said that, MMC does have the advantage of being viewed as a boutique brand and can get away with a retailer space that reflects that and not be up to the level of other premium brands.

When they last had their promotion for no charge paint/hide/trim etc, I was really wanting to pull the trigger but sadly I came away with the feeling I was doing them a favour of wanting to buy vs. being woo'd to buy. When I walked into a Porsche retailer for the first time, it was another world. They couldn't have done more, organised a car for the night, suggested we book a Porsche Experience day to get immersive session with the brand, booked follow up commissioning session in a proper commissioning room etc. Was a fantastic experience from start to finish.

I truly hope MMC are doing more customer focus groups, taking a hard look inwards and devising a plan to keep this historic brand alive for many years to come.

I'm now off to see about getting lambs wool overmats for my parcel shelf

From what I understand at least two well known dealers have bailed out of 'new' sales as the required stock investment was too high and another one has been told they will lose the new sales franchise because MMC don't want locations in little tucked away villages, two of these had many years experience and had previously won Dealer of the Year awards