Porsche revs up sales drive

Deesch Papke, president and CEO of Porsche China, said the market "is becoming more established, more professional, more competitive".[Provided to China Daily]

CEO sees more potential in Cayenne's largest market

After taking the position 19 months ago, Deesch Papke, president and CEO of Porsche China, said he now understands the local market well enough that he is fully confident he can lead the German sports car icon to a new level in the country.

"By 2018, Porsche plans to sell 200,000 cars worldwide, and this market will contribute a large number," said Papke.

But more important than the number is "that we deliver the elements to result in 200,000 units", he said.

The company's global sales grew 14.9 percent year-on-year to 169,205 vehicles in the first 11 months of this year, surpassing the total for 2013.

Its market performance in China improved by 18.7 percent on an annual basis to 40,504 units, while sales in September saw China replace the United States for the first time as its largest country market for a single month.

"That is because we have done a good job delivering on our strategy," said Papke. "I am cautiously optimistic that China is a market that is not going to slow down for the foreseeable future. It is becoming more established, more professional, more competitive－and that brings in new dynamics.

"We will endure and survive, and we must be able to adapt, make sure that we understand, and continue to be successful in such an environment. Porsche will do everything we can to remain competitive and successful in China."

It now has 75 dealerships around the nation covering nearly all major cities.

"Our target is 100 showrooms by the end of next year. And we will expand the network through carefully analyzing markets," said Papke.

He told China Daily that Porsche will first look at a city and the environment in a province, and then look at what drives the economy－taking a sustainable, long-term view of the economy.

"It is really important that we go where the current and future Porsche customers are. We must also ensure a profitable, long-term relationship with our investors. So, we will have 100 if it makes sense for us."

Papke added that Porsche is constantly developing ways to offer consumers opportunities to interact with the brand, not necessarily the old traditional ways of attracting consumers into showrooms.

Papke's confidence also comes from a stronger product offering.

Earlier this month, the company's well-received new Cayenne hit the Chinese market, offering SUV customers greater value with a price range of 972,000 to 2,214,000 yuan.

"We have had such wonderful success with the previous generations of Cayenne in China, which is now the biggest Cayenne market in the world." said Papke. "The Cayenne has been well received and it has a very unique place within the Chinese market. There is no reason why the new Porsche Cayenne will not be as successful as its predecessors."

Demonstrating the guiding Porsche credo of "Intelligent Performance"－high performance, everyday practicality, innovative design and versatility－the new Cayenne inherits pure Porsche's sports car DNA and is born from a firm commitment to China, said the company.

"When Porsche engineers design a car, they are always thinking about how to update the car with leading technology and the most popular designs," said Papke.

"For example, if you go sit in the rear of the new car, you will find that the seats are softer and it has more space. We made those improvements due to feedback from our customers."

And with the entry of the smaller Macan model "we have a double effect in the SUV segment", said the CEO.

Papke has concluded from his experiences that Chinese customers are mostly the same as elsewhere in the world, but a fundamental difference is that they are younger.

"They are extremely well educated, well-traveled, discerning and successful. And they are unbelievably demanding－they determine what they believe is appropriate. So we need to go closer to them and communicate well with them."

Though the majority of Porsche's sales are SUV and four-door coupe models, Papke emphasized that the company is a sports car manufacturer and focuses 100 percent on delivering the sporty Porsche experiences.

"Though the market is currently driven by Cayenne and Panamera, our sports car volumes are also growing, such as the flagship 911 and Boxster," said Papke. "The limited super sports car 918 Spyder has also been extremely well received in the market."