New Porsche Cayenne drives Porsche profits – up 25 per cent

Porsche Profits up 25 per cent - driven by Porsche Cayenne sales

Building the Cayenne will be the end of Porsche, cried the Porsche anoraks when Stuttgart entered the SUV fray with the Cayenne back in 2003. But nothing could be further from the truth.

As we’ve pointed out endlessly, the lure of a capable and sporty SUV with an iconic badge is a license for Porsche to print money. Especially with the margins Porsche enjoys on the back of the Cayenne’s underpinning being based on the VW platform for the Q7 and Touareg.

Those margins are an incredible 19 per cent (Mercedes are ‘aiming’ for 10 per cent on their passenger cars), and it’s those spectacular margins – also achieved on the back of an obstinate refusal to discount their cars, whatever the circumstances – which have lead to Porsche revealing nine months profits up by 25 per cent to €1.51 billion.

What also has to be remembered is that despite huge Cayenne sales – Porsche actually shifted 43,924 Cayennes during the period – the 911 is in flux as the new 911 arrives. Once that comes on stream sales should be even more impressive.

But we ain’t seen nothing yet. Porsche plans to hit 140,000 sales in 2012, and its medium term target is to hit 200,000 sales. That should be achievable as it pushes the button marked ‘Audi with a Porsche badge’ once more and enters the more compact SUV market with the Porsche take on the Audi Q5 – the baby Cayenne, dubbed Porsche Cajun – in 2013.

It seems likely the Porsche Cajun will be Porsche’s biggest seller ever.

By Cars UK