Porsche is finalizing plans to add a new model to meet rising demand for sporty luxury vehicles. “In the not-too-distant future, we will present a seventh model line” that would hit the market by 2020, Porsche CEO Matthias Mueller said Friday at the automaker’s annual press conference. “There are already promising plans, but no board decision yet.”
The Volkswagen Group unit is considering an electric car to comply with environmental regulations and counter the rise of Tesla. It was earlier rumored that the Porsche Pajun sedan will be sold only as an electric car to compete with vehicles such as the Tesla Model S.
In addition, Porsche previously said it might expand the Panamera model line with a smaller version or a more spacious shooting brake variant. Porsche is also considering a new sports car between the 911, which starts at 90,417 euros in Germany, and the 768,026 euro 918 Spyder plug-in hybrid supercar. The new sports car model would be designed to challenge Ferrari.
Porsche plans to sell more than 200,000 vehicles for the first time this year, driven by demand for the 59,715 euro Macan compact SUV, which it introduced last April.
The planned model line expansion comes as demand for luxury cars continues to rise. Last year Porsche, its sister brands Audi and Bentley, Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz and BMW Group all reported new sales records. Porsche’s deliveries rose 17% to 189,849 cars in 2014 and surged 34% in February to 14,836 cars.
Demand for luxury autos is forecast to rise further this year because of growth in China and the U.S. The profit margin for the Stuttgart-based carmaker narrowed to 15.8% last year from 18% in 2013 because of investments to add the Macan and to revamp its best-seller, the Cayenne SUV. Even so, Porsche’s return on sales remained one of the highest among global automakers.
