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Originally Posted by Perfectlap
No way, the Boxster DEFINITELY turned the corner for Porsche.
Agreed that the Cayenne is a much bigger success story for Porsche. But had it not been for the Boxster Porsche wouldn't have had the luxury of dragging their feet to unveil the top notch rebranded Touraeg. Those Boxster dollars brought in allot more money for R&D across all their models. Who knows maybe it was Porsche's know how that made the VW SUV as good as it is. I highly doubt VW would have been able to produce an SUV on their own that lapped the N-Ring in the same time as the BoxsterS. A collaboration that was as lucrative as it was successful on track. Who knows if Porsche would have even been in a position to get a good deal out of that colloboration if they were still only selling minimal numbers of 911 and 968's.
Look up the Porsche sales in North America in the early 90's.
I recall an interview with the CEO of PNA stating that they sold less
than 1,000 911's in one particular year. 
They sold that many Caymans in January alone.
The Boxster is no Miata in terms of sales but it was certainly a make or break momment for a company that would probably have been taken over instead of
buying a piece of VW. |
Hi,
Sorry, but you just don't have your facts straight. Boxster Sales peaked in '00/'01 with 27,865 Units produced. By '04/'05 production dropped to 12,988 units or a 55% reduction from the peak year. These are the last figures released by Porsche.
Also, when you look at just the North American Market (Porsche's Largest Market by far), Porsche sold a total of 31,356 units, but the Cayenne accounted for 17,216 of these (or 55% of all Sales) while the Boxster and 911 Sales
combined accounted for only 14,140 Units. So, if one were to look strictly at the data, it appears that Porsche has now become primarily an SUV Manufacturer which also produces some Sports Cars. Combined Boxster and 911 Sales were down some 17%, the 3rd year of such declines.
One other significant factor, maybe the most significant, relates to North American Sales as well, namely the currency exchange rates of the Dollar against the Euro. Porsche profited from this to the tune of 14% of their total profit, not because of anything they did, but solely due to the World Currency Markets.
Fact is, the Boxster improved Cash Flows for Porsche, but had minimal effect on profits. If the Cayenne takes a nose-dive, Porsche will go right along with it...
Happy Motoring!... Jim'99