Porsche drives regional sales

German sports car maker Porsche expects vehicle sales in Middle East and Africa to remain strong and sees great potential in its expanding Indian operations, a senior company official said on Tuesday.

Porsche, the maker of 911 sports cars, expects vehicle sales in Middle East and Africa to grow by at least 20%, if not more, in fiscal year 2007/08, said Deesch Papke, the managing director of Porsche Middle East and Africa.

"We expect to match last year's vehicle sales growth, if not exceed that," he said at the opening of a new showroom in Mumbai, Porsche's second in India in less than a year.

Porsche, which has nearly 31% in Volkswagen, expects to sell about 150 units in India this year, he said.

It is aiming at 30-40% growth in sales in India next year, and will soon add showrooms in Hyderabad, Pune and Chennai to tap a growing number of wealthy consumers.

The number of wealthy individuals in India grew at the second-fastest pace in the world in 2006, according to a study by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini.

"India is an extremely important emerging market for Porsche," said Papke, who estimated the luxury car segment at about 6,000 units annually.

"The luxury car segment is still in its infancy, but the potential is enormous, and the key is to unlock that potential." Volkswagen's premier Audi unit has started assembly of its A6 model in India to compete more effectively against rivals including Mercedes-Benz and BMW, which also assemble cars locally.

Volkswagen, which also assembles the Passat sedan in a group facility in Aurangabad, is spending $530 million on a new plant near the western Pune city to make up to 110,000 vehicles a year from the second half of 2009.

Besides tapping emerging markets like India and China, Porsche will focus on developing more hybrid powertrains and making engines more efficient to satisfy consumer demand and meet stricter regulations, Papke said.

It is building hybrid powertrains for the Cayenne offroader.

Print | Email | Discuss this article |

USER COMMENTS (0 COMMENTS)

POST A COMMENT

CLICK HERE TO POST A COMMENT

Add your Comment All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *	(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments
Security Code *
Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.