Halo Models: The Importance of Image in the Automotive Industry

The automotive industry, like many other industries, is at its core a business with the goal of making a profit. Of course, not all models are profitable. In fact, some are even very unprofitable, yet pay off in other ways. In the automotive industry, they are called halo models. By the way, they are produced not only by supercar brands, but also by ordinary companies.

A machine that creates an image

In Latvian, “halo” is a shining ring around the sun or some other celestial body. That is, an optical effect. In English, this word is also used to denote certain machines, however, in Latvian, this meaning is absent. But the idea is this: they are the models who work as the face of the company, promoters of the success story, demonstration of technological progress and bearers of exclusive design. Therefore, they are extremely important for manufacturers.

One such example of a halo is the “Bugatti Veyron”, which was the first production car with an engine of more than 1000 hp and a top speed of over 400 km/h. It was the world’s most expensive car, the price of which started at around 1.5 million euros. Although this is a very significant amount of money, each model sold brought a loss of about 6 million to the manufacturer.

At the time, the head of the “Volkswagen” concern, Ferdinand Piech, wanted to create a luxury car with unique technical parameters, which cost more than one and a half billion euros in total, and only 450 Veyron copies were produced in ten years. When creating such a supercar, no one even expected that it would pay off, because the goal was not. The goal was to show what Volkswagen is capable of.

By the way, halo can also be a serial machine. For example, “Volkswagen Golf” has become such a successful model of the German brand that even a whole class of compact hatchbacks is named after it.

A good story is needed to generate interest

“Most of all, halos play a marketing role. They allow a brand to show what it can really do and tell a story. After all, a person on a TV show or a character on a show is only interesting to us if they tell a good story. Even marketing textbooks teach – in order to love a brand, there must be a good story underneath,” says “Kursors.lv” car expert Māris Gaugers.

As an example, he cites the “Porsche 911”, which has become the face of this brand, although its sales volume is small compared to other models of the manufacturer. In fact, if it weren’t for the big SUVs, “Porsche” would probably already be bankrupt, but now the profits brought by other models allow to improve the legendary sports coupe and thus make the history of the brand.

It is not unusual for models who have achieved dizzying success to become image makers. “Mercedes-Benz” G-class SUV was created for military purposes, but the civilian version created later became highly sought after due to its durability, reputation and mobility. Later it became recognizable precisely because of its classic design.

The story of “Jeep Wrangler” is similar. This all-terrain vehicle resembles the first “Willys” that appeared during World War II. The great-grandfather of the “Fiat 500” is to blame for the fact that the whole of Italy suddenly fell in love with compact small cars in the post-war years. The Ford GT40 was Henry Ford II’s ambition to beat Ferrari in racing.

All these models have become a success story, which the big manufacturers continue to nurture to improve their image.

History can be made

However, some manufacturers create halo models specifically. For example, in 2017, the Korean company “Kia” was still on its way from the budget class to the middle class. Its model range was extremely wide – from small city cars to medium-sized SUVs. They were all practical, reliable, economical, oriented towards mass consumption, but not very interesting.

Then the sports sedan “Stinger” appeared with an exclusive design and a “premium” standard level. At the time, no one expected a 3.3-liter rear-wheel drive V6 sedan with 370 hp from the brand that produced the compact Cee’d hatchback. Such a decision by the manufacturer came as a big surprise to many, and this model immediately attracted the attention of car reviewers. It both looked and drove like a real premium class, even though it cost the same as a modestly equipped BMW 3 Series diesel.

Kia’s goal was not to make money with this model. It later turned out that it didn’t make any money either, as despite the positive response, sales weren’t huge. However, “Stinger” significantly increased the prestige of the manufacturer.

“In Europe, Korean brands are considered ‘newbies’ because these companies are not that widely known yet, although objectively speaking, these companies make good cars. A sports car like this may not be necessary for the average driver, but it shows that the company is capable of more about what we see on the streets and draw attention to ourselves,” explains Māris Gaugers.

Times change, cars change too

As the eras change, so do the models used to create the image. After more than seven decades, the company “Land Rover” has launched a modernized and technologically updated “Defender”. Although the previous model was a real icon, in today’s context it already looked like an embalmed mummy in a sarcophagus. However, it was meant to be – it represents history and was not directly related to the rest of the brand’s existing model range.

Kia did the same, replacing the Stinger with the new EV6 GT. Here the idea is different. The Koreans once invested all their talent in this sporty four-door coupe, but it goes with the times and is now electric. In addition, it can boast of even better technical parameters. Thanks to two electric motors with a capacity of 585 hp (740 Nm), “EV6 GT” has become the most powerful model in the history of “Kia”. Since this car can reach 100 km/h in 3.5 seconds, it has also earned the honor of the brand’s fastest car.

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