A Hybrid for Porsche?
You always wanted a Porsche but just wouldn't guy one because you only by Hybrids, well your luck has changed. Yes, Porsche is jumping on the Hybrid bandwagon and going to try out a Porsche Hybrid.
Via The Car Connection:
Fuel economy may seem the last thing on the list the typical Porsche buyer is likely to consider when shopping, but the German automaker is giving serious thought to the idea of adding an eco-friendly hybrid to its lineup.
"If you're a responsible manufacturer, it's something you have to look at," said Peter Schwarzenbauer, CEO of Porsche Cars North America, (PCNA), adding that "at least for the North American market, this may be a direction" the company will take.
A gasoline-electric version of the Cayenne would almost certainly be the approach taken - if Porsche decides to opt in on the increasingly popular technology. And the automaker would likely put as much emphasis on added performance as it would on improved mileage, according to the German executive.
A study team was launched earlier this year, Schwarzenbauer acknowledged, but so far, it has been given no timetable for reporting in, nor is there a target date for production. It is possible, he hinted, that Porsche might not develop the necessary hybrid hardware on its own. "We should be open to talk to everybody into this technology," Schwarzenbauer said, even the new hybrid joint venture teaming General Motors and DaimlerChrysler.
In a separate line of discussion during a pre-holiday dinner, Schwarzenbauer confirmed that a decision on whether to add a fourth model line would be completed by "the summer of 2005." At this point, he suggested, the debate is "30 percent 'if,' and 70 percent 'what.'" Said Schwarzenbauer, "When you're a small manufacturer, like we are, we're forced to grow," though that does not guarantee Porsche will add a new model.
Growth is definitely something happening for Porsche's North American subsidiary - a unit now responsible for 40 percent of global sales. Worldwide, Porsche announced a 15-percent increase in volume during the just-completed fiscal year, while U.S. volume soared 32.4 percent, to 32,767 sports cars and SUVs. The Cayenne has been the big driver for that growth, outperforming even the company's own, optimistic expectations by about 40 percent. For calendar 2004, Schwarzenbauer expects PCNA to hit a "historical record," selling 32,500 vehicles. That would soar pass the previous record of 30,471, set back in the bubble year of 1986. With 13 more dealers aimed at markets not previously covered, Schwarzenbauer said he is optimistic the new record "will last for only another year." -Paul A. Eisenstein
Posted by Quality Weenie at December 15, 2004 08:03 AM