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 Double-digit volume growth in the United States and China, which
Audi and Porsche both list among their top three markets, gave a
boost to the VW-owned divisions ahead of the Detroit auto show next
week.
Porsche increased sales of models such as the iconic 911 sports car
and the top-selling Cayenne SUV 14.9 percent last year to 162,145
autos. The brand is awaiting another boost from the new Macan
compact SUV, to hit German showrooms in April.
"We're entering the new year with a great deal of confidence,"
Porsche sales chief Bernhard Maier said on Thursday during a
conference call.
"We did anything but terminate our product offensive in 2013."
Porsche's goal to boost worldwide deliveries to more than 200,000
cars — originally set for 2018 — may be reached this year, market
researcher IHS Automotive said, citing demand for the Macan. Porsche
plans to produce 50,000 Macans per year.
Audi, the world's second-largest maker of premium cars, pushed up
global deliveries 8.3 percent last year to 1.57 million, after
December deliveries alone surged 18.4 percent.
The Ingolstadt-based carmaker, which together with Porsche accounts
for almost two thirds of VW's 8.56 billion-euro ($11.64 billion)
nine-month operating profit, has a goal of replacing BMW <BMWG.DE>
as luxury-sales champion by about 2020, when it targets 2 million
deliveries.
"We have comfortably surpassed our mid-term goal of 1.5 million
deliveries," Chief Executive Rupert Stadler said in a statement on
Thursday.
The advance of Audi and Porsche is proving a boon to parent VW which
aims to surpass Toyota <7203.T> and General Motors <GM.N> as the
world's largest carmaker no later than 2018.
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But three years after surpassing rival Mercedes-Benz <DAIGn.DE> as
runner-up on premium sales, Audi may return to third place this
year, IHS Automotive said.
Audi's global sales may grow only 4.4 percent in 2014 to 1.66
million cars and SUVs, narrowly behind Mercedes which is seen
posting a 7.7 percent gain to 1.67 million autos, the market
researcher said.
BMW sales may grow 7.4 percent to 1.77 million cars, keeping the
Munich-based company in the top luxury slot.
"Audi and Porsche are clearly poised for further growth but the
market environment isn't getting any more comfortable," said Stefan
Bratzel, head of the Center of Automotive Management think-tank near
Cologne. ($1 = 0.7353 euros)
(Reporting by Andreas Cremer; editing by Christoph Steitz and Ruth Pitchford)
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