Badge Engineering - Luxury Vehicles

Luxury Vehicles

Badge engineering occurs in the luxury-type market segments. An automobile manufacturer will use a model from its mainstream brand, upgrade it with more features, technology, luxury and/or style, then market it as a more expensive model under a premium marque. The luxury models may have more than just cosmetic differences; they may receive improved engines and drivetrains.

An example of this is the Ford Motor Company taking its well known family sedan Ford Taurus, and selling it as the Mercury Sable, or a Ford Expedition being sold as the Lincoln Navigator. Another example is General Motors with its rebadged version of the Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe as the Cadillac Escalade, and their rebadged version of the GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook, the Buick Enclave. Buick and Oldsmobile were frequently considered GM's upmarket brand compared to Chevrolet, while Cadillac was considered the luxury brand.

Audis used components from their more pedestrian counterparts, sold as Volkswagen Group's mass market brands, a common practice when Volkswagen first acquired Audi in 1964. In the mid-1990s when the Audi brand was shifted more up-market to compete with more luxurious Mercedes-Benz and BMW, most Audi vehicles have used different platforms than their VW counterparts (the exception being the Audi A3), although engines and transmissions have continued to be shared. As an effort to place Audi as a premium marque, Volkswagen frequently introduces new technologies in Audi-branded cars before fitting them to more mainstream products (such as the Direct-Shift Gearbox).

Japanese carmakers have followed this practice of rebadging as well, such as Honda's Acura line, Nissan's Infiniti brand, and Toyota's Lexus marque, as the entry-level luxury models were based on their mainstream lineup. For example, the Lexus ES shares the drivetrain and is based on the same platform as the Toyota Camry (and from the 2013 model year, on the stretched version used by the Avalon); the Lexus LX is an upgraded rebadge of the Toyota Land Cruiser, and the Acura TSX is a rebadge of the JDM Honda Accord.

Another notable examples is Ruf Automobile, which manufactures cars using the badge engineering method, but their method is unique compared to usual badge engineering methods. They build cars using their own-made parts instead of simply putting the badge. Examples of cars building in this method are CTR Yellowbird, CTR2, RGT, and eRuf Model A, which are based on different generations of Porsche 911 series. Because of this, Ruf becomes a popular substitute for Porsche for some toy model manufacturers and video game developers who are unable to acquire the rights to the Porsche brand.