Porsche sets key tasks to brace for bumper year in 2016

China is largest sales market for luxury brand

German luxury auto brand Porsche is bracing itself with a trio of tasks for 2016 now that it is sure to have a bumper harvest in China this year.

The automaker delivered 49,190 vehicles from January to October in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao, a 37 percent surge year-on-year, said Franz Jung, president and CEO of Porsche China.

"Of course this is a very impressive number. The truth is the small SUV Macan helps us a lot as a brand-new car as its segment is the fastest-growing segment. We have at the moment exactly the right answer. So 2015 is going to be a great year for Porsche in China."

China has become Porsche's largest single market worldwide in terms of sales volume.

Based on its bullish performance, Porsche has started its preparation for 2016, as there is no sign yet that it will be a year of economic recovery.

"We will focus on these three areas－professionalize our dealer network, loyalize our customers, and also the conquest of new customers. I think if we do these three areas right we are on the right track," Jung said.

Porsche said it would open the world's largest training center next month in Shanghai to help build a more professional network of dealers.

The luxury brand now has 85 dealerships on the Chinese mainland, in Hong Kong and Macao, and the number will grow to 90 by the end of 2015.

"It's important to change the mindsets of most of our dealersmindset in the way that it is not possible anymore to just sell new cars. The times of overpricing and long lines of waiting customers are over," Jung said.

"These dealers have to understand that if a customer is not coming to Porsche and waiting in line for a car, you have to search for customers, you have to find them, and you have to do a little bit more to get the business done."

Enhancing customers' loyalty is another major task that Porsche will emphasize next year.

Loyalty starts with a unique purchasing experience in the first place, and then advances by building a constant and close relationship with the customer, he said.

Customer loyalty will grow if Porsche always has an answer for them when they want to buy, maintain or sell their cars, he added.