Porsche Raises Prices on Cayenne Because They Can.

In my earlier post regarding New prices for the Porsche Cayenne, I speculated that Porsche’s strategy to keep inventory low at most US dealers appeared to be working (at least for the Cayenne). Today, in news from Stuttgart, Porsche released year over year sales figures for March 2008. Not surprisingly, overall sales were down by 24%. Very surprising to me was the fact that 911 sales were down over 42% year over year with only 825 vehicles being sold. When I think of Porsche, I think of the 911 as the flagship. Despite my wishful thinking the Cayenne has pulled far ahead. In fact, one of the most positive pieces of this latest news (at least for Porsche) is the fact that Cayenne sales were up 33% year over year. This probably explains their reasoning for the slight price increase announced yesterday.

Porsche Cayenne GTS selling very well

As a foot note to the release and one I’m sure we will hear more of in the future, Porsche sold sold and delivered almost 400 of the Cayenne GTS units on the North American market in the first month after its launch. Pretty impressive figures if you ask me.

Full press release is below:

Porsche acquits itself well in North America

Stuttgart: In March 2008, Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, held its ground well in a market environment characterized by recession fears in the US and Canada. At 2,624, the number of vehicles delivered to customers was down by 24% on the figure for the previous year. As before, the second generation of the sport utility Cayenne with its reduced consumption engines resonated strongly with customers. The most recent proof of this is the successful market launch of the particularly sporty Cayenne GTS, 396 units of which were sold on the North American market in the first month following its launch.

Overall, deliveries of the Cayenne increased by 33 percent to 1,227 in the month under review. The 911 sold 825 vehicles in the US and Canada in March 2008, down 42 percent from last year. 572 units of the Boxster model series were delivered to customers, a decline of 49 percent. Within the series, the Cayman and the Cayman S accounted for a total of 285 units.

[Source: Porsche]