Porsche: No plans for model priced below Boxster
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MONTE CARLO -- Porsche has no plans to sell a car costing less than the Boxster, according to the automaker's head of sales and marketing.
"To build a Porsche for 30,000 euros currently doesn't fit our brand," Bernhard Maier told the Automotive News Europe Congress in Monaco today. "The extraordinary purchase experience is not for free and the entry price is currently covered with the Boxster and in the future by the Macan."
He said Porsche's plan to double sales won't compromise exclusivity. "We will retain the brand's exclusiveness – despite increasing volumes. We have to accelerate to stay successful in the long run."
Porsche aims to sell 200,000 cars a year by 2018. Last year the company sold 117,000, a rise of 18 percent on 2010 figures.
 | Bernhard Maier denied Porsche's plan to increase annual sales to 200,000 by 2018 would compromise exclusivity. |
"Our Strategy 2018 began by defining the brand strategy," said Maier. "No matter what we build – we build sports cars."
He said the brand had been called into question every time the company launched into a new sector. Next year, Porsche will launch its second SUV, the smaller Macan.
Maier insisted it would fit the brand. "We always offer the sportiest and most exclusive vehicle in the segment," he said.
The large Cayenne SUV is now Porsche's biggest seller, accounting for half of the firm's sales in the first quarter of 2012.
Despite the increased volumes, exclusivity is still achievable Maier said: "We offer one car fewer than the market is able to handle,' he said.
"If the experts are right and the world markets grow to 100 million units in 2018 and Porsche would sell 200,000 units, we would have a world market share of 0.2 percent. I don't believe this would be a drastic change in exclusiveness."
You can reach Nick Gibbs at nick.gibbs@btinternet.com.
