Porsche expects to hit U.S. sales goal early

ATLANTA -- Porsche will meet its goal of selling 50,000 vehicles in the U.S. in 2015 -- three years earlier than originally envisioned, the brand's top U.S. marketing executive said.

"We are so close," said Andre Oosthuizen, vice president of marketing for Porsche Cars North America Inc. "We would foresee 2015 would definitely be the year to surpass that threshold."

Porsche sold 42,323 vehicles in the U.S. in 2013, a 21 percent gain. Through September, the brand has sold 35,366, up 12 percent, twice the overall light-vehicle market's 6 percent rise. Porsche is seeking sustainable growth, Oosthuizen said.

"This year potentially one could get there, but we believe we'll be shy of 50,000," he said. "But it will still be growth that outpaces the majority of the industry, especially the premium industry for this year."

Oosthuizen predicted that 2014 sales would fall between 45,000 and 48,000.

In 2015, Porsche will have a full year of sales for the new Macan crossover, which went on sale in May and has limited availability. The freshened Cayenne, Porsche's large crossover and top seller, also will be available for the full year. It goes on sale in November.

Porsche leaders set the 50,000 target in 2011, a year when the brand's U.S. sales finished at 29,023. A spate of new and redesigned products combined with revived U.S. auto sales has put them ahead of schedule.