The Hindu : Business : Porsche chalks out big plans to capture niche car market in India

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Nov 22, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Business

Business

Porsche chalks out big plans to capture niche car market in India

Sandeep Joshi

Gearing up for the launch of sports coupe Panamera next year

To expand dealership network to more cities
Plans to introduce pre-owned car programme

AAMBY VALLEY: Global economic slowdown notwithstanding, Porsche has chalked out big plans to capture fast-growing niche car market in India. The German luxury carmaker, whih has already introduced latest range of its sports cars, including iconic ‘911’ and best-selling ‘Cayenne’ SUV, is now gearing up for the launch of its new sports coupe ‘Panamera’ next year.

The company’s focus on the Indian market can be underlined from its ongoing two-week long roadshow at this picturesque locale, a few hundred kilometres away from Mumbai. This is Porsche’s second roadshow, aimed at brand promotion and showcasing the latest technologies — including ‘911’ sport coupe with latest direct fuel injection engines and double-clutch gear box (Porsche Dopplekuplung) — from its stable to around 300 prospective buyers.

“The Porsche World Roadshow 2008, being held from November 14 to 23, is a prestigious event where a group of professional instructors showcase our latest range of sports cars and SUVs to their prospective buyers. The roadshow is all about safety and fun and designed to highlight just how enjoyable driving a Porsche can be,” Porsche India Managing Director Rod Wallace told The Hindu adding that the roadshow would be back next year.

Porsche, which sold 100 cars in 2007 and hopes to double this figure by this year-end, is focusing on consolidating its position in India.

“We hope to sell at least 250 cars next year and planning pan-India expansion of our dealership network. With over 650 Porsche cars running on Indian roads, we need to increase our presence. We will be opening a new dealership in Ludhiana (Punjab) soon, while Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad are also on our list. We aim at dealership presence in 10-11 cities in the next two years,” Mr. Wallace informed. Porsche has now two dealers in Mumbai and Delhi.

Talking about the much-awaited launch of new sports coupe ‘Panamera’, Mr. Wallace said: “We have high hopes for ‘Panamera’ in India too and want to introduce it here with our global launch scheduled for late-2009.”

Porsche is also planning to introduce a pre-owned car programme for which cars will be sourced from within India. “Individuals generally look for a car change in about three years. This unique programme would involve buying back the car and its refurbishment by the dealer along with a company warranty,” Mr. Wallace added.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Business