Porsche Unveils its First Sedan in Shanghai

Posted by Reading Time: < 1 minute

SHANGHAI, Apr. 20 – Porsche introduced its first luxury sedan during the eve of the Shanghai auto show at the Shanghai World Financial Center; indicating its focus on the Chinese automobile market.

It is the first time the car company formally entered a new market segment during an auto show outside the United States or Europe. The Panamera is the car brand’s first sedan after being famous for making sports coupes in the past six decades. In 2002, it introduced the sport utility vehicle, Cayenne.

China’s automobile market is attracting car makers because it has been surpassing sales made in the United States for the past three months. Last month alone, sales increased by 10 percent.

The Chinese automobile market is now considered the second-largest market in the world and luxury car brands have been quick to recognize this despite the global slowdown decreasing sales.

“This year there will be some impact, but when the economy recovers, this segment will also grow,” Yale Zhang, a Chinese market forecaster in the Shanghai office of CSM Worldwide, told the New York Times.

The turbo version of the Panamera will be priced US$2.5 million or about US$366,000 because of the country’s higher taxes. The car claims to have better fuel efficiency compared to most luxury sedans.

Porsche’s executive vice president for sales and marketing, Klaus Berning, told the New York Times that while the timing for entering a new market segment was difficult; the company had received enough orders to expect to meet its goal of selling 20,000 annually. He said: “The current orders already make us very comfortable and optimistic.”