| Porsche's Record Year | ||
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(Fri 28 Nov 08) Porsche has reported that its last complete financial year (1 August 2007 to 31 July 2008) was the most successful in its six-decade history, with record profits, turnover, sales and production.
Pre-tax profits during the period hit €8.6 billion, an improvement of 46% over the previous year. This was due largely to events in the long-running process whereby Porsche wants to increase its shareholding in Volkswagen, which paid for various projects including the development of the new Panamera four-door coupé, new engines for current model ranges and further work on a future hybrid version of the Cayenne. During the year, the number of Porsche employees increased to a record 12,202, while vehicle production hit 105,612 despite a cut in the number of 911s (down 12% from 2006/2007 to 34,303 units) and Boxster/Caymans (down 16% to 22,356 units). Whatever Porsche purists may think of the Cayenne, there's no doubt that it's the star of the show these days: production shot up by 34.1% to 48,497, with the Leipzig factory in which it's built working, in Porsche's words, "to its absolute capacity limit". Considering the global economic downturn, this is all impressive stuff, but Porsche knows it can't last. Figures for the current financial year are expected to be lower, not least because it has had to limit production at its Zuffenhausen plant. The introduction of the Panamera is the company's main hope for sustaining a reasonable level of business in the near future. Porsche Gallery Previous: Ford Focus RS Debut Next: Vauxhall Corsa Top For Instructors |
