Yes, yes, I know it's one of those tedious questions, but I don't quite get this definition TBH.
Are we just talking about those makers that sell more than a certain amount, or is there more to it than that?
For example, I hear people mentioning firms like Seat and Skoda as being mainstream, yet Hyundai and Kia apparently aren't, despite selling in similar numbers. By the same token, some people don't seem to consider Honda or Toyota as being mainstream either, despite selling more cars than Nissan that is. Confused!
So are Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Hyundai, Kia, Daewoo, Proton, Skoda, Seat, Chrysler etc etc mainstream or not?
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Yes. I would say it's all mass production, mass market manufacturers who build 'affordable' saloons, hatchbacks and estates which are a common sight on the world's roads.
In other words, all of them except for the exotic sports car / luxury manufacturers.
Copying and pasting the makes with a British presence from the dropdown lists on a million websites, I would class Alfa Romeo, Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Citroen, Daihatsu, Fiat, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Isuzu, Jaguar, Jeep, Kia, Land Rover, Lexus, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot, Proton, Renault, Saab, SEAT, Skoda, Smart, SsangYong, Subaru, Suzuki, Tata, Toyota, Vauxhall, Volkswagen and Volvo all as mainstream manufacturers.
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I think the expression "mainstream" is more relevant when related to the product than the manufacturer. So a BMW 318d is a mainstream product because it sells to a mass market, whereas a BMW 750iL isn't because it doesn't.
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An analogy would be Radio2, Magic, Smooth etc., radio stations playing music that appeals to the widest possible audience, compared to specialist music stations such as Radio6 Music.
However, trying to be a "mainstream" manufacturer and cater for all market sectors didn't do Mercedes a great deal of good a few years back...:-)
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"However, trying to be a "mainstream" manufacturer and cater for all market sectors didn't do Mercedes a great deal of good a few years back...:-) "
Especially as most other manufacturers were rising to and beyond MB's quality standards.
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>>Especially as most other manufacturers were rising to and beyond MB's quality standards.>>
That was the point to which I was alluding - one of my best mates switched to a new Bentley in place of his (third or fourth in a row) S-Class as he was so fed up with MB's deteriorating quality standards at the time.
He found his new set of four wheels delivered even lower standards.....
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They would all, or nearly all, quite like to be mainstream, but only the really big ones are. But it probably isn't as great being mainstream as one might think. The market means that volume has to be maximised and competition from rivals keeps margins restricted. The whole thing is sales-led and dependent on market forecasts. An economic downturn or an important new model purchasers don't go for can mean enormous losses because a certain volume is needed to break even, given development costs and the capital cost of automated production lines. This is less of a problem for low and very low-volume producers which don't have thousands of robots to feed. Of course the ordinary workers and employees are even more insecure than they were a few years ago.
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