Porsche was once a small-time automaker cranking out nothing but niche-model sports cars, but the German automaker has evolved into near full-line global automaker. That trend will continue for the foreseeable future, with the Volkswagen-owned car maker eying 200,000 sales by 2018.
Porsche sold 97,000 units worldwide last year, making the increase to 200,000 units a rather daunting task. However, Porsche CEO Matthias Mueller has a plan to more than double the company’s annual sales in just seven short years, which includes launching at least one new model every year.
“Each year we want to celebrate a major event, namely bring a new Porsche to market,” Mueller said. “We are also revising and improving existing products and looking to see what would bolster Porsche’s image in terms of healthy growth.”
The Cajun compact SUV and 918 supercar will be included in those plans, but Mueller all but confirmed that an entry-level model and more Panamera variants will also be part of Porsche’s future product strategy.
“For 2014, I could imagine a legitimate successor to the Porsche 550 — namely, a small mid-engine sports car,” he said. “Actually, I couldn’t imagine a better name for a small roadster like that than the 550.”
Mueller added: “I can imagine a long-wheelbase version [of the Panamera], especially for growing markets such as China and Russia. We also think that a plug-in hybrid concept would fit well with the Panamera. And there are many more ideas out there, like a two-door Panamera that makes even more of a coupe-like impression, and so on.”
Mueller also revealed Porsche will make a decision on a new model to slot between the 911 and forthcoming 918 by mid-year.
Porsche hasn’t announced any official sales targets for 2011, but Mueller admitted he wants to see the company cross the 100,000 unit mark.
References
1.’Porsche boss: A…’ view
