Porsche sales in China jump by 63 per cent
Porsche yesterday announced it has smashed its sales record in China, shifting almost 15,000 vehicles in 2010, an increase of 62.7 per cent on a year earlier.
The German carmaker’s four-wheel-drive Cayenne model was the most popular, selling nearly 9,000 units.
Sales of sports cars including the iconic 911 and the newer Boxster model rose 77 per cent year-on-year to 2,340.
Bernhard Maier, Porsche board member for sales and marketing, said: “We can look back on an extremely successful 2010.”
Maier added the firm would almost triple the size of its dealer network in China over the “next few years” to cope with demand from the emerging economic superpower.
Porsche shares closed over seven per cent higher yesterday at €68.74 off the back of the Chinese sales surge and news its planned merger with fellow German manufacturer Volkswagen is likely to go ahead.
A senior member of the Porsche family said the tie-up was on “the right track”, also sending shares in Volkswagen higher.
Porsche supervisory board and family member Wolfgang Porsche also said the carmaker expected to hear next week whether hedge funds will appeal against the dismissal of their US lawsuit against Porsche.
Porsche is to be subsumed into the Volkswagen empire with shareholders trading in their holdings for stock in Europe’s largest carmaker once their company is debt-free as part of a planned merger.
Wolfgang Porsche also said that Qatar is unlikely to boost its 10 per cent stake in Porsche though the two sides are in talks for cooperation in several areas.
The tiny Gulf Arab state’s sovereign wealth fund, Qatar Investment Authority, bought a 10 per cent stake in Porsche in September 2009.