Will Porsche do themselves in?

[limoncello]

Porsche has done OK lately, I think their CEO was named Automobile mags man of the year for taking a Porsche, that was in the red, and turning it into one of the most profitable makers around. Somebody did something really right by bringing in the Boxster/Carrera co-design, the Cayenne, etc. It HAS worked.
The future? Four door sedans? I'm not so sure. They are seemingly adding a lot to the mix at one time. Hope it works -

[jamscal]

Don't forget also that the 'new' Sedan will feature Cayenne mechanicals.

Exclusivity?

I'm used to seeing 50 C5 vettes before I see another Boxster, and then yesterday I pass two Boxster S s and then a regular one on my way to work. Kinda neat.

-James
'01 S

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by limoncello

Porsche has done OK lately, I think their CEO was named Automobile mags man of the year for taking a Porsche, that was in the red, and turning it into one of the most profitable makers around. Somebody did something really right by bringing in the Boxster/Carrera co-design, the Cayenne, etc. It HAS worked.
The future? Four door sedans? I'm not so sure. They are seemingly adding a lot to the mix at one time. Hope it works -

Hi,

All good points! One thing which has not been mentioned is the impact the Cayenne has had. It has contributed much more to Porsche's Sales Numbers and Profitability than the Boxster has, which has shown some declining sales of late.

This means that Porsche has gained momentum from exactly what I am saying, New Markets. The Cayenne created a whole new segment of Porsche Customers who would most likely have become Owners of MB, Lexus and Accura had they not had a Porsche to choose from - they were not likely to buy a Boxster or 911 instead.

The Cayenne is almost solely responsible for Porsche's turnaround, this very fact is even cited in one of their recent Annual Reports.

In other words, Porsche became Profitable by designing and producing something other than a Sports Car. I suspect that this lit more than a few Lightbulbs in the Minds of Porsche's Directors.

I'm not saying that Porsche will ever turn it's back to the Sports Car Market, just that there is a strong incentive to move in other directions as well, and at the same time...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[Perfectlap]

THe funny thing is that by building so many Cayennes they have killed two birds with one stone: they've majorly increased revenues(40% of sales that were non-existent pre-Cayenne) which makes the 911 more 'exclusive' or uncommmon relative to their overall production.
Where as in the past the 911 was the car they sold the most of, its now fewer in numbers than the 1-2 punch of the Cayenne and Boxsters.

Kind of brilliant when you think about it.


But I think that they may want to take a hard look at being so reliant on the Cayenne. Nearly half of all sales on SUV's is not a plan for the future. The $3 a gallon future is going to affect this segment of the auto industry, whether that will be a concern at all for someone spending such a large sum on an SUV of all things, is a seperate matter.
Building HIGH end/low volume Sedans like Merc is a better strategy than going after the low cost/high volume "sporster" route. A better way of bringing more revenue while preserving the prestiege of the "there is no substitute" brand image. Porsche can really capitalize on the 'perceived' advantage that a Porsche will always out-handle, out-corner, out-brake any car made by BMW or Merc. A Porsche sedan will make a Merc or BMW sedan seem old school by comparison.
KInda like lining up a Maserati Quatroporte next to an S class. I know which I would rather take for a day trip with 3 passengers.

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

THe funny thing is that by building so many Cayennes they have killed two birds with one stone: they've majorly increased revenues(40% of sales that were non-existent pre-Cayenne) which makes the 911 more 'exclusive' or uncommmon relative to their overall production.
Where as in the past the 911 was the car they sold the most of, its now fewer in numbers than the 1-2 punch of the Cayenne and Boxsters.

Kind of brilliant when you think about it.

Hi,

On one hand, this threads begins on a cautionary note about Porsche expanding their product line as a potentially Bad Thing and now it shifts to praising Porsche for doing so.

As you infer, a 40% increase to Sales is a Good Thing. But, I'm not sure I follow the Logic which says building 100,000+ SUVs somehow makes a Sibling GT Car more exclusive.

Porsche has never limited production of the 911 or the Boxster. Pretty much anyone who can afford and desires one can get it.

You may be confusing Market Demand with Exclusivity. If Demand increases for these Cars, as a Mass Producer, Porsche will meet this demand, albeit by increasing their own production capacity, or subcontracting production to others, which they have a history of doing. Any percieved exclusivity stems mainly from the limited number of potential Owners who both desire, and can afford them.

Marques such as Pagani, Ferrari (esp. the Enzo, FXX and F430), Aston Martin, Bentley, or Maybach are Exclusive. These Companies have decided to produce only set number of a certain model making them truly exclusive. Porsche is a Mass Producer. Referring to them as a Boutique Carmaker leads to confusion.

While there is no hard definition of what a Boutique Carmaker actually is, it is generally considered to be one which makes 100-4000 Units annually. Also, Parts-Sharing (using other's Engines, Transmissions, Suspensions, Brakes, etc.) and Hand Production are attributes often associated with these kind of small manufacturers. One of the Dictionary definitions of Boutique is: a small company that offers highly specialized services . These are not definitions which closely match Porsche at all.

Throwing this term about so loosely alleviates some of the responsibility Porsche should shoulder as a Major Manufacturer, such as addressing the various serious quality concerns raised with several late models. We as Customers should not be so quick to let them off the hook, especially in light of their Industry leading Profits.

I came across an interesting article from the Aussie Car Magazine Wheels about BMW, in it they state:"... Here's the problem: BMW is a boutique automaker -- meaning it produces and sells fewer than 800,000 cars a year. And though the company clears a healthy 9.1 percent profit on those cars -- and 675,076 sold last year -- truth is, it can't do that forever and grow in an increasingly competitive global auto industry..." Now, I doubt anyone here considers BMW to be anywhere near a Boutique Automaker. For the same reasons neither is Porsche...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[Perfectlap]

I agree for the most part and that 'boutique' is a crutch that some companies like Porsche can pull out to blame the fact that they can't make a state of the art stereo for their car! But truth be told in comparision to other mass producers of cars they do their sales thing very much like a boutique automaker. I can walk into any dealership that sells BMWs and go home with an 06 BMW once the dealer's 06 stock is in? No need to ever deal with any special ordering for my particular BMW like Porsche does.

and i'm not sure you can really compare 30,000 north American cars that Porsche makes with what 300,000 North American cars BMW builds? Now add in the Mercs, S2000's, and other sportscars that Porsche customers consider before buying a P-car then you see that Porsche is in a very unique position for a company still producing mass producer reliability.
Perhaps Porsche is not a true boutique manufacturer but relative to its competitors (who are profitable!) their numbers are teeny tiny.
As I stated previously trying to triple their production numbers can have some negative consequences even if it helps them to build up the bottom line.
They should take a good look at what Merc and BMW have been unable to do with low cost cars. The BMW ti comes to mind.