FYI
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Burning Brakes
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FYI
Reuters
Porsche Banks on New SUV to Boost Sales
Tuesday January 7, 3:22 pm ET
DETROIT (Reuters) - German sports car maker Porsche (Frankfurt:PSHG_p.F - News) may only increase its vehicle sales this year thanks to its newly launched Cayenne sport utility vehicle, board member Hans Riedel told Reuters on Tuesday.
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From August to November, the first four months of Porsche's fiscal year, the company's global sales edged up just 0.1 percent against the same period a year earlier, to 14,717 cars.
"This doesn't mean we can extrapolate the figures to the year-end," said Riedel, board member responsible for sales and marketing.
"We will hold our own in the core (sportscar) business, although it might be difficult to reach where we were last year. But aggregate with the Cayenne we will have substantial growth," he said.
In fiscal 2001/02 Porsche sold 54,234 cars, a slight decline on the previous year, although stronger sales of higher margin models helped its pre-tax profit to rocket 40 percent to 829 million euros ($864 million).
Luxury carmakers tend be more insulated from economic downturns, mainly because their clients are less affected by economic malaise and because they usually set capacity below demand to keep pricing firm.
Until the launch of the Cayenne last year, Porsche produced just two sports cars, the small Boxster and the higher-margin classic 911.
This hitherto recession-resistant strategy has helped it post record profits for eight consecutive years, but Boxster sales have been weaker over the past few months despite a recent face-lift.
"Boxster buyers have become particularly sensitive (to economic weakness) and that is where we are losing our franchise," Riedel said.
He expected Boxster sales to be roughly stable for the fiscal year ending in July, while sales of the 911 may slip slightly.
Riedel said he was confident Porsche would exceed its target of selling 25,000 Cayennes a year, adding that around 100,000 people had expressed strong interest in the car.
In the U.S., where Porsche sells half its cars and where it hopes to sell a large proportion of its Cayennes, the company aims to double overall sales.
<img border="0" alt="[cheers]" title="" src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" />
Porsche Banks on New SUV to Boost Sales
Tuesday January 7, 3:22 pm ET
DETROIT (Reuters) - German sports car maker Porsche (Frankfurt:PSHG_p.F - News) may only increase its vehicle sales this year thanks to its newly launched Cayenne sport utility vehicle, board member Hans Riedel told Reuters on Tuesday.
ADVERTISEMENT
From August to November, the first four months of Porsche's fiscal year, the company's global sales edged up just 0.1 percent against the same period a year earlier, to 14,717 cars.
"This doesn't mean we can extrapolate the figures to the year-end," said Riedel, board member responsible for sales and marketing.
"We will hold our own in the core (sportscar) business, although it might be difficult to reach where we were last year. But aggregate with the Cayenne we will have substantial growth," he said.
In fiscal 2001/02 Porsche sold 54,234 cars, a slight decline on the previous year, although stronger sales of higher margin models helped its pre-tax profit to rocket 40 percent to 829 million euros ($864 million).
Luxury carmakers tend be more insulated from economic downturns, mainly because their clients are less affected by economic malaise and because they usually set capacity below demand to keep pricing firm.
Until the launch of the Cayenne last year, Porsche produced just two sports cars, the small Boxster and the higher-margin classic 911.
This hitherto recession-resistant strategy has helped it post record profits for eight consecutive years, but Boxster sales have been weaker over the past few months despite a recent face-lift.
"Boxster buyers have become particularly sensitive (to economic weakness) and that is where we are losing our franchise," Riedel said.
He expected Boxster sales to be roughly stable for the fiscal year ending in July, while sales of the 911 may slip slightly.
Riedel said he was confident Porsche would exceed its target of selling 25,000 Cayennes a year, adding that around 100,000 people had expressed strong interest in the car.
In the U.S., where Porsche sells half its cars and where it hopes to sell a large proportion of its Cayennes, the company aims to double overall sales.
<img border="0" alt="[cheers]" title="" src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" />
