Porsche Plans to Accelerate China Dealership Openings This Year

Porsche SE (PAH3)’s carmaking unit said it plans to step up expansion plans in China by increasing its dealerships in the country by more than 40 percent this year to meet demand in the world’s largest automobile market.

The maker of the 911 sports car expects the number of Chinese dealerships to reach 60 by the end of the year from 41 now, Bernhard Maier, the Stuttgart, Germany-based carmaker’s sales chief, told reporters in Beijing today. The number of showrooms will increase to about 80 next year and about 100 by 2015, according to the company.

The projections help illustrate luxury carmakers’ increasing focus toward China, where IHS Automotive predicts sales of premium light vehicles in the country will increase 24 percent this year. Volvo Car Corp. said yesterday it aims to more than double its number of models in the country and Bentley Motors Ltd., which opened its 19th Chinese showroom yesterday, plans to open four more this year.

Porsche, which expects to double global deliveries to 200,000 units by 2018, counts China as its largest market for the Panamera sports car and the Cayenne sport-utility vehicle, Maier said. It’s the second largest market for the Boxter and Cayman, he said. Its China sales will outpace the 15 percent to 20 percent projected gain in the nation’s overall premium-car demand this year, Porsche forecast in November.

Porsche said opened eight dealerships in China last year.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Liza Lin in Shanghai at llin15@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Young-Sam Cho at ycho2@bloomberg.net