In Two Or Three Years, China Could Be Porsche’s Biggest Market & Manufacturing Facility
Porsche aims to roughly triple its Chinese dealership network in the next two to three years to around 100 dealers from 35 now, the company’s top executive said.
“(China) is an important market for us,” Chief Executive Matthias Mueller told Reuters Insider on the sidelines of the Detroit Auto Show. China will be key for Porsche in the next decade. Asia currently accounts for 30% of Porsche business and is the third largest market for Porsche.
Porsche (China) Motors Ltd. is a subsidiary of parent company Dr. Ing h.c. F. Porsche AG. Porsche China commenced operations in 2001 to support Porsche partners in China through dedicated personnel who oversee every aspect of sales marketing and after sales functions.
The office is located in Shanghai and managed by Helmut Broeker. Having previously held General Managership posts with BMW – covering Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and Australia – native German, Mr. Broeker, plans to guide Porsche China to new heights as China’s automotive market continues to mature.
“Chinese buyers love money, they love prestige,” Müller said. “In two or three years, China could be our biggest market.” We’ve seen recently the introduction of Asia-specific models such as the 911 Carrera S Asia Cup edition. The Carrera S Asia Cup edition sports contrasting decals similar to that of the GT3 RS and is limited and exclusive to the Chinese Market.
The aspiration from Chinese consumers extends to car racing, so Porsche is apparently building tracks in Shanghai and Beijing. “We are working hard to increase the topic of motorsport in China,” Müller says.
To showcase this importance, Porsche recently ran the new GT3 R Hybrid in China. Porsche used the final race of the newly created Intercontinental Le Mans Cup season to showcase the prototype. The Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC) is open for sports prototypes and GT vehicles, with the regulations based on the rules of the Le Mans 24 Hours. There are three long distance races in ILMC series: the 1,000 kilometres of Silverstone (Le Mans Series), the Petit Le Mans in Road Atlanta (American Le Mans Series) and the 1,000 kilometre race in Zhuhai/China.
Now, Focus Magazine is quoting Chief Executive Matthias Mueller as saying, “This year, we are going to discuss whether to start assembly in Asia or North America.” “The main thing is that the car has ‘Engineered by Porsche’ on it. Where it is produced is no longer so important.” Say What? Currently, the company manufactures its cars in factories in Leipzig and Stuttgart, Germany.
The Focus report went further to say that the new Cajun SUV could be constructed at the same place in China as the Audi Q5, Which makes business sense since the Cajun is a technically similar model. So the speculation is that China will be chosen, and play a key role for Porsche in the near future.
Source: Reuters, Focus Magazine
Photos: Porsche, Bushautoblog.com
