The Panamera made its North American debut last October and within just three months, Porsche Canada sold more than a hundred of them. By the end of the first quarter of 2010, sales had already tripled!
In fact, this particular model is enjoying so much success in the land of the Great White North that Porsche will have sold as many Panameras as Cayennes come December 31st. That would mean about a thousand based on a rough estimate.
Meanwhile, the brand’s sporty two-seaters, including the 911, Boxster and Cayman, find a little less than a thousand Canadian takers annually — combined.
Ok, let’s do the math: 1,000 sports cars + 1,000 Cayennes + 1,000 Panameras = 3,000 Porsches. Again, that’s just in Canada. South of the border, sales volumes are tenfold! And just imagine the goldmine that is the Chinese market for Porsche. Unsurprisingly, the world premiere of the Panamera took place in Shanghai.
Without these "sacrilegious" and plebian four-door Porsches, the Zuffenhausen-based automaker would now enjoy three times less visibility on the road. Here’s another equation for you: less visibility = less appeal = fewer sales = fewer profits.
A wider, more diversified product lineup allows Porsche to make profits that help develop even more new models. I’m not merely talking about mainstream models but also ultra-limited editions such as the 2004-2006 Carrera GT and a possible production variant of the 918 Spyder.
Purists should eat their words right about now — especially those who openly criticized the brand upon the introduction of the Cayenne SUV and Panamera sedan. Without these vehicles that attract more potential customers into showrooms, the halo above Porsche would have lost definite luster. Even worse, the lack of profits could have resulted in a takeover by some obscure Chinese company. Can you imagine Sichuan Tengzhong making an offer to purchase Porsche after failing to acquire Hummer?!?
In fact, this particular model is enjoying so much success in the land of the Great White North that Porsche will have sold as many Panameras as Cayennes come December 31st. That would mean about a thousand based on a rough estimate.
Meanwhile, the brand’s sporty two-seaters, including the 911, Boxster and Cayman, find a little less than a thousand Canadian takers annually — combined.
Ok, let’s do the math: 1,000 sports cars + 1,000 Cayennes + 1,000 Panameras = 3,000 Porsches. Again, that’s just in Canada. South of the border, sales volumes are tenfold! And just imagine the goldmine that is the Chinese market for Porsche. Unsurprisingly, the world premiere of the Panamera took place in Shanghai.
Without these "sacrilegious" and plebian four-door Porsches, the Zuffenhausen-based automaker would now enjoy three times less visibility on the road. Here’s another equation for you: less visibility = less appeal = fewer sales = fewer profits.
A wider, more diversified product lineup allows Porsche to make profits that help develop even more new models. I’m not merely talking about mainstream models but also ultra-limited editions such as the 2004-2006 Carrera GT and a possible production variant of the 918 Spyder.
Purists should eat their words right about now — especially those who openly criticized the brand upon the introduction of the Cayenne SUV and Panamera sedan. Without these vehicles that attract more potential customers into showrooms, the halo above Porsche would have lost definite luster. Even worse, the lack of profits could have resulted in a takeover by some obscure Chinese company. Can you imagine Sichuan Tengzhong making an offer to purchase Porsche after failing to acquire Hummer?!?