Porsche: Interview with the boss!

Here's a nice round up of Porsche's plans with the CEO of Porsche cars North America, Peter Schwarzenbauer.

Porsche will not introduce an “entry-level” model priced below the Boxster. Yes, Schwarzenbauer admits, a Boxster may not be most people’s idea of entry-level, but it is the bottom of the Porsche ladder and must remain so. In reality, he pointed out, the real entry-level Porsche model is a used one—though he’d prefer we say “certified pre-owned.”
As for various rumblings around the press that the Cayenne is/was a disappointment, Schwarzenbauer flatly disagrees. He said Porsche hoped to sell about 12,000 Cayennes a year. As the current model is being phased out—the new Cayenne is due in March—the Porsche SUV has averaged 15,000 sales per year over its four-year life cycle. Schwarzenbauer also notes that the vast majority of Cayenne buyers did not trade in their Porsche sports car to buy the SUV.
Looking to the future, Schwarzenbauer feels that the next generation of car buyers will be far less brand-loyal than the current generation. Porsche buyers, overall (it varies greatly by model) are about as loyal as the industry average. (About 45% of Porsche buyers are repeat owners , compared to 48% for the entire industry.)
Yes, Porsche is working with VW and Audi to develop a hybrid, which most likely would go into the Cayenne, due “before 2010.” Schwarzenbauer says adamantly, however, that Porsche will not go diesel.

Related news: GermanCarBlog, P4MR, Porsche

Source: Popular Mechanics, picture by Porsche

Porsche: Interview with the boss!

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