Porsche Achieves new Records in Sales, Production and Turnover Cayenne was the most successful series in the business year 2007/08
Stuttgart. Porsche Automobil Holding SE, Stuttgart, has again brought home record values in the business year 2007/08 (to July 31) despite the general lack of buoyancy in the economic environment. As the company announced on Wednesday, in a first review of the business year that has just ended, preliminary figures indicate that sales of the 100 percent subsidiary Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG have increased by 1.2 percent to 98,652 vehicles sales. Turnover also went up by 1.3 percent to 7.46 billion Euro.
The mainspring of Porsche's growth course was the Cayenne series. With an increase of 34 percent to a provisional figure of 45,478 automobiles, sales of the sporting all-terrain vehicle reached a new record high. The new, emphatically sporty Cayenne GTS, which was successively launched on the global markets from February 2008 onwards, contributed to this success with 6,942 unit sales. The 911 series, with an estimated 31,423 vehicles sold, lay 16 percent below the previous year's very high figure. In view of the model changeover of the 911 Carrera in the second half of the fiscal year 2007/08, this sales figure still represents a considerable success. The Boxster series, which also includes the Cayman, totalled 21,747 unit sales; this was 16,8 percent less than in the previous fiscal year.
Expanding in New Markets
There are regional variations in sales growth between the markets: growth rates continue consistently strong in the new markets such as China and Middle East. Thus according to the preliminary figures, Porsche was able to step up sales outside the traditional markets of Germany and North America by six percent to 52,595 vehicle sales. In North America development was very satisfactory with an expected figure of 32,533 unit sales - meaning a drop of only 3.1 percent. Porsche has long been prepared for a possible economic crisis in the USA and has made substantial reductions in its warehouse stocks there. On the German market Porsche experienced an estimated slight decrease of 5.5 percent to 13,524 vehicle sales.
Top Speed at the Leipzig Factory
Preliminary figures show that a total of 105,162 vehicles were produced - 3.3 percent more than in the previous fiscal year. The factory in Leipzig was working at the limits of its capacity. With production of the Cayenne reaching 48,497 units - an increase of 34.1 percent relative to the previous fiscal year - more automobiles rolled off the assembly line than ever before. The number of 911s manufactured in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen was 34,303, representing a reduction of twelve percent. Production of the Boxster series totalled 22,356 units (minus 16.3 percent).
More New Jobs Created
Porsche's continuing success has also enabled new jobs to be created. Thus the number of employees in the Group has risen by 5.4 percent to a total of 12,202. New opportunities have arisen mainly in research and development, in sales, in the Leipzig factory and in the two subsidiaries Porsche Consulting and the management and IT consultancy company Mieschke Hofmann und Partner (MHP). In Leipzig, the preparations for the start of series production of the Gran Turismo Panamera are in full swing. A total of 600 new jobs will have resulted there from the production of Porsche's fourth series.
New 911 Carrera is Popular with Customers
Porsche Automobil Holding SE in the current business year 2008/09 sees demand for the new 911 Carrera models with direct gasoline injection and the Porsche double-clutch gearbox going well as expected. On September 25, 2008, the 911 Carrera was also launched on the important US American market. As the most recent addition to the new 911 family with reduced fuel consumption, the 911 Targa models will be launched worldwide on October 25, 2008. In addition, the two new mid-engined sports cars, the Boxster S Porsche Design Edition 2 and the Cayman S Sport, have been available since September. With 303 PS (223 kW) from 3.4 liter engines, the new models have eight PS more than the S-Versions of the Boxster and Cayman. Both models are exclusively equipped.
Nevertheless, it is difficult in the present economic situation to make reliable predictions about trends in the current fiscal year as a whole. Porsche keeps a very close eye on developments in the global markets and will continue to stay true to its strategy of producing one automobile less, rather than stockpiling one. Due to its variable production, Porsche sees itself in a position to adapt its production numbers flexibly.
The company expects the next growth spurt when the Panamera is launched in the next fiscal year 2009/10. With this four-door, four-seater Gran Turismo, Porsche will not only be participating in the expansion of the market for luxury vehicles in the big future markets of China, the Indian subcontinent and Russia, but will also create a sensation in the traditional sales areas of Europe, North America and Japan.
GO
01.10.2008