On Friday of last week Porsche announced their final figures (delivered units) for the fiscal year ending July 31, 2008. Besides posting record profit numbers that actually exceeded their revenue, Porsche shipped close to 34,000 units to the North American market (31,818 to the US and 1,874 to Canada.) This represents a very small drop from last year’s number of 35,398 units. Given today’s economic conditions these are fairly impressive numbers, especially when you take into account that 911 sales were down by almost 20% (which may be explained by the upcoming model change.) Porsche introduced an improved drive train, transmission (PDK) and fuel economy on 911 models. The full press release is below.
Earlier in the same week, Porsche announced a new CFO to take over at the Porsche Deutschland GmbH subsidiary. Karsten Sohns was appointed as new manager for Finance, Controlling and IT. The full press release is below.
Later this week, I have a post on the social aspects of the PCA along with information on how Ethanol affects our Porsches.
Porsche stays on the road to success in North America. The new 911 Carrera models are set to cause a stir from September
Stuttgart. Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, has almost equaled the previous year’s sales figures of 35,398 units in the North American market in the last financial year 2007/08 (to July 31, 2008) with a total of 33,692 deliveries, despite the change of 911 Carrera model; the drop is only five percent. Customer deliveries can be broken down into 31,818 vehicles in the USA and 1,874 units in Canada. In view of the gloomy economic situation in North America, these results are a great success on the whole.
The Cayenne is primarily responsible, exceeding the previous year’s figures by 17 percent with a total of 13,700 deliveries in the USA and Canada. The sports model, the Cayenne GTS, first launched in March 2008, has already sold 1,977 units. The 911 sports car range fell by 19 percent to 10,775 vehicles as a result of its life cycle. In anticipation of the new 911 Carrera model with lower fuel consumption direct injection and the new Porsche dual clutch transmission, sales figures for the previous model fell slightly. The new Carrera models will hit the streets of North America from September. Sales of the Boxster range fell by twelve percent to 9,217 vehicles, including a total of 5,402 Cayman and
Cayman S units.
In July 2008, the last month of the 2007/08 financial year, the premium sports car manufacturer delivered 3,274 vehicles in North America, 3,128 units in the USA and 146 in Canada. This is a slight fall of four percent in comparison with the previous year’s figures. The Cayenne recorded customer sales of 1,002, 20 percent fewer than in the same month last year. In contrast, overall sports car sales rose slightly in North America in July 2008. The 911 range zoomed up four percent to 1,121 vehicles sold. The Boxster range even managed growth of six percent to 1,151 units, including a total of 567 Cayman and Cayman S vehicles.
Porsche Deutschland expands Managing Board. Karsten Sohns appointed as new manager for Finance, Controlling and IT
Stuttgart. Robust growth at Porsche Deutschland GmbH, Bietigheim-Bissingen, also requires expanded capacities in management. The
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG Executive Board has therefore appointed Karsten Sohns (42) as the subsidiary’s Chief Financial Officer. From August 1, 2008, he will be responsible for the Finance, Controlling and IT divisions. He takes over responsibilities from Reinhard Dietrich (65), who is taking a well-deserved retirement after 45 years spent working for Porsche. At the same time, Bernhard Maier (48), up to now the sole Managing Director of Porsche Deutschland GmbH, is being appointed Chairman of the Managing Board. In future, he will take responsibility for the Porsche subsidiary’s Business, Marketing, HR and Strategic Direction divisions.
“In Karsten Sohns we are gaining a proven finance and sales pro who also has international experience. His appointment has put us in a stronger position in time for the launch of the Panamera. In future, we will forge ahead to greater things with four series“, says Bernhard Maier, General Manager of Porsche Deutschland.
The company has gone from strength to strength since it was created in 2000. Thus, the number of registrations in Germany has gone up by over 50 percent since 2000, from 11,696 vehicles to 17,667 in the last calendar year, in fact. Sales achieved by the company in the German domestic market in the business year 2006/2007 also subsequently increased to around one billion euros.
Karsten Sohns, who was born in 1965 in Heidelberg, studied economics and econometrics in Heidelberg between 1990 and 2000 and has subsequently held various positions with Porsche AG, including that of manager for sales process optimization. Since 2000, he has been Finance Director of Porsche Cars Great Britain Ltd., Reading (England).