The reasons include the cost of new model series, but also economic uncertainty. Last year, porsche had made a profit of 1.84 billion euros. "2012 was the most successful year in the history of our company to date," said porsche ceo matthias muller. However, porsche will not be able to fully decouple itself from economic developments, particularly in europe. VW boss martin winterkorn warned on thursday that 2013 would be a test of endurance for the entire industry. Porsche AG has been a full member of the VW group since august 2012.
In contrast to the wolfsburg company, however, the start to the year was positive for porsche. In january and february, the sports car manufacturer delivered more than 22,500 vehicles worldwide, exceeding the previous year’s figure, said muller. However, he does not want to extrapolate this sales surge for the year as a whole. "We’re driving on sight," muller said.
The economic problems in the euro zone are currently also causing concern for the financial planners at porsche. But in the medium to long term, the sports car manufacturer will continue to grow, said porsche boss muller. If the global economy recovers in the medium term, the automotive market could benefit and grow to around 100 million vehicles by the end of the decade.
Last year, porsche was able to decouple itself from the development of the global automotive market. Even in europe, where the passenger car market had shrunk by 8.2 percent, porsche grew by eight percent. Sales in china and north america each grew by around a third. Porsche had delivered a total of 143,096 vehicles – 22 percent more than in the previous year. Sales increased by 27 percent to 13.9 billion euros. To secure sales in the growing emerging markets, the sports car manufacturer is investing in its dealer network. By 2018, there will be 100 porsche centers in china alone, and around 1000 worldwide.
Porsche also plans to create 3,000 new jobs by then. At the end of 2012, the sports car manufacturer had 17,500 employees. 1,000 new employees are to be hired at the leipzig site alone by next year. The new macan model series is manufactured there, a compact land car that resembles the porsche cayenne. The sporty landing car was the best-selling porsche model in 2012. The highest growth rate was recorded by the classic 911. Sales of the panamera luxury sedan, which the sports car manufacturer has redesigned this year, were slightly sluggish.
Following the takeover, VW and porsche are endeavoring to dovetail production, procurement and development more closely. The originally expected synergies of 700 million euros have been exceeded, says porsche boss muller.
Former porsche parent company porsche SE holds around 51 percent of VW and plans to invest in investments that supply new technologies or raw materials for the automotive industry in the future. Porsche SE will publish its annual financial statements next tuesday (19. March) to present its annual results.