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Head of IR at Porsche AG discusses launch and expectations for Cayenne in SUV market Full article published: 12/13/2002     MANFRED AYASSE is the Head of Investor Relations at Porsche AG


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TWST: Can we begin with a brief historical sketch of Porsche (OTC: PSEPF) and then bring us up to date with who the company is today?

Mr. Ayasse: Porsche started as an engineering company in the 1930s. It has been founded in 1931. It stood out as an engineering company rather than as a carmaker. One of its most famous products, Professor Porsche, the founder of the company, designed is the original VW Beetle. It started with the development of sports cars in 1948 and with a serious production in 1950. Since then Porsche has become the biggest sports carmaker worldwide. But Porsche never forgot its tradition as an engineering company and the engineering work for other carmakers and partners like Harley-Davidson, is still a very important business for Porsche.

TWST: Geographic wise, what is your biggest market?

Mr. Ayasse: North America is our biggest market by far. Currently we sell roughly 40 percent of all our cars in North America, and roughly 22 percent in Germany. The second biggest export market is Great Britain, which is very important for us. Next it’s Italy, Japan and other European markets.

TWST: Do you see that percentage changing?

Mr. Ayasse: Yes. It has changed in the last fiscal year a little bit with the small decrease in our North American sales and with a booming Great Britain market, and some other booming export markets. So we see a higher percentage of other exports markets and slightly smaller percentage in the U.S. market.

TWST: Who drives the Porsche? Who is the target customer?

Mr. Ayasse: Independent businessmen, owners mid-size and small companies, successfully managers, a lot of CEOs are among our customers, and people like architects, consultants, lawyers, medicines.

TWST: Do you see that customer base changing with the introduction of the SUV?

Mr. Ayasse: Not substantially, because most of our customers, and this has been one reason for us introducing an SUV, don’t own a Porsche as the only car; they own an average of three cars, and this is more or less the same in Europe and North America. One of those three cars, especially in the U.S., is an SUV.

TWST: When is the SUV to be launched?

Mr. Ayasse: The SUV has currently been presented to the international press, but it will be launched from December 7 on. First in Germany, some European countries, and in the Spring of next year it will be launched in North America.

TWST: Looking forward perhaps within a 12 to 24-month time frame, can you give us a quick picture of the strategy, what kind of objectives are on the agenda, what you would like to achieve during that period?

Mr. Ayasse: I think we have reached a high status, very good financial status for example in regard to earnings, but things will go forward I think very impressively for the company. We are now focused on the launch of the Cayenne, our third model line. This will be a big challenge for the company. It’s a new car in a new segment, built in a new factory with new employees; it’s really a big challenge but we think we will match it and we will see a high demand for this car. So we are very confident that this product will work well. And if you look to our sports cars, we see an ongoing good demand both for Boxster and 911. In addition, we will also have our new high tech sports car, the Carrera GT, that we will launch next year. With this car, we will sharpen our image as a sports carmaker because this car is really outstanding with more than 500 horse powers and pure racing technology behind the body.


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This interview is a small excerpt from a comprehensive interview published in The Wall Street Transcript on 12/13/02. For more information call (212) 952 7400. The Wall Street Transcript does not endorse any of the comments made by interviewees, and does not make stock recommendations.

Copyright 2002, Wall Street Transcript Corp.

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