In case of the Command Panther: maybe because it was cheaper than the standard Panther?!
The thing is tho, company of heroes and all its patches are mainly based on 1v1s balance.
After this last patch, the fuel cost is upped to 200 OKW fuel.
The problem is, in a 1v1, why would you ever get a commandpanther instead of a regular one?
You want a panther in general for its strengths, and not the the buffs it gives other vehicles, and vet5 on command panther is never gonna happen in a 1v1.
The question is, why get a command panther that doesnt scale? when you could just have a regular panther that scales with veterancy?
I know its a callin, so you dont need the flak truck, but still.
This might be only my opinion, but id rather have a... lets say, 3 vet panther than a 3 vet command panther..
I would on the other hand try to get a commandpanther out if ive already had other vetted vehicles on the field.