Porsche proves unstoppable

Porsche sold a record number of cars last month, more than in any other April before, the Stuttgart-based company reported on Monday.

More than 12,588 units left Porsche showrooms worldwide, a 7.2-percent increase month-on-month. In the first four months of 2012 it sold 43,141 units, a 12.6-percent surge on the year. The company said the particular boost in April was supported by all its markets.

Porsche was particularly successful on the domestic front, with a 21.5-percent sales increase year-on-year, and an even bigger 22.9-percent jump logged for Russia.

April sales in Europe as a whole rose by 13 percent in contrast to only marginal gains recorded by rivals BMW and Volkswagen. In the United States, Porsche booked an 8.0-percent increase in the same period.

Extension of product range no priority

The company's sports utility vehicle (SUV) Cayenne once again proved to be its best-selling brand around the globe with 6,000 vehicles sold in April.

Porsche CEO Matthias Müller at the weekend dampened expectations as to the company's resolve to build a smaller version of its Panamera luxury car. "We have to ask the question whether it would be sensible to produce such a modified version right now," Müller said in a statement. "It doesn't have to be now, but can happen in five or six years from now."

Germany's Auto Bild magazine had reported earlier that Porsche was going to market a smaller Panamera by 2017 under the name of Pajun, saying the company would thus be better positioned to compete with Mercedes' E-class and CLS Coupe brands.

hg/ai (dapd, Reuters)