MotorAuthority

Porsche exec denies rumors of baby Cayenne and 928-sucessor

Posted Sun May 18 2008 9:07 AM by Siddharth Raja

Porsche is planning to expand its operations considerably over the next couple of years by hiring up to 2,100 new employees and opening dozens of new dealers in emerging markets such as China and Russia. However, don't expect to see any major model launches as the only car Porsche marketing exec Klaus Berning is willing to comment on is the new Panamera sedan due next year.

Speaking with Auto Motor und Sport, Berning explained that executives haven’t discussed adding a smaller SUV model positioned below the Cayenne. Despite his comments, last week spy images of a mysterious compact Cayenne surfaced leading to suggestions that a new smaller Porsche SUV has been given the green light. Berning also denied rumors of a new coupe model based on the Panamera, a potential successor to the original 928 GT, explaining that Porsche is concentrating on the successful launch of the new four-door and is already stretched to its limit.

Porsche will also expand its dealer numbers from the current 650 stores worldwide to around 700 in the medium term. Currently Porsche only has 19 dealers in China but this will more than double in coming years.

The introduction of the Panamera will also see Porsche’s sales expand by roughly 20,000 units per year, however Berning expects it to cannibalize some sales of the Cayenne so annual sales should remain close to the current 100,000 annual level.

2010 Porsche Panamera renderings

Porsche baby Cayenne spy shots

story Tags:

• Porsche

Reader Comments

• Sun May 18 2008 11:01 AM

  autoque says

  Maybe it's not a baby Cayenne, but a next generation Cayenne that was rumored to be smaller than the current generation Cayenne.

• Sun May 18 2008 5:17 PM

  x says

  Maybe its Lamborghini testing their potential SUV with Cayenne body panels?

• Sun May 18 2008 5:47 PM

  MyWheelsOnWalls.com says

  The rumors of new models could also be very true as they will need to expand the brand for both profit and to meet quota's that will come into play with upcoming emission standards, that will most likely be based on fleet size/total cars sold.
  
  On the other hand maybe Porsche will meet those standards by building smaller cars that are more efficient but I doubt it.

• Sun May 18 2008 9:12 PM

  Wizards Lore says

  is it just me or would a shooting brake of the Pannamera look better than the 4 door coupe ??
  
  and a smaller 4x4 would have me at the Porsche dealership putting in my order !