Porsche China Boss Praises Business
Deesch Papke Says Sales Drop in May Expected
The German luxury sports car maker's forecast comes despite a May sales drop in China, which the executive said was expected.
In May, car sales by Porsche fell 1.3% from a year earlier to 3,164 vehicles. The company didn't give reason for the decline when it issued the report two weeks ago.
In an interview on Friday, Deesch Papke, president and chief executive of Porsche (China) Motors, said the figure means it sold about 40 fewer cars compared with May 2013. The result is "not really a drop," he said, adding, "The marginal drop was preplanned. It was in the budget."
Car sales by Porsche AG in China rose 9.5% in the first five months of this year to 16,465 cars.
"We're confident that the year is going to be double digit in any case on last year," Mr. Papke said. "For us the business is going extremely well." He added that he expects "low double digit" sales growth.
Last year Porsche's China sales rose 20% to 37,425 cars.
One element to increasing sales will be adding distribution outlets. Porsche currently has 68 dealers in operation. It aims to have 85 by the end of this year and just over 100 by the end of next.
"We're well placed in the eastern part of the country and we're now looking for opportunities in the center," he said.
In China, models such as Cayenne and Primavera are popular. Porsche hopes to increase sales of its core sports cars including the 911, Boxster and Cayman. "Year-on-year we get stronger and stronger in sports cars" in China, he said.
Mr. Papke said the recently launched Macan would be available at dealers in China beginning in July. He declined to give specific figures for preorders but said some models were sold out for the rest of the year. "Every day the orders are coming in. We look forward to having the same success as Cayenne."
Mr. Papke was speaking on the sidelines of a Porsche event in Shanghai for customers and dealers.
He said it will take time for China to embrace motor sports—which helps raise the image and demand for high-performance sports cars—to the extent it is in Europe. "It will come. Maybe 10 or 15 years from now, we'll have a Chinese world Formula One champion. That would be fantastic," he said. "One needs to be patient and consistent."