Porsche CEO: A new Porsche every year, 200,000 sales by 2018

February 22, 2011February 22, 2011 Omar Rana Matthias Mueller, Sports Cars, Supercars

In October 2010, former Porsche CEO handed over the steering wheel to Matthias Mueller. Mueller, 57 and a former executive at Volkswagen AG, aims to increase annual global sales by more than 200,000 units, which is a big jump from 97,000 in 2010.

In a recent interview with Automotive News Europe, Mueller said that he will introduce at least one new Porsche every year.

“We will improve coordination between our model line product life cycles,” Mueller said. “Each year we want to celebrate a major event, namely bring a new Porsche to market. We are also revising and improving existing products and looking to see what would bolster Porsche’s image in terms of healthy growth.”

When asked if he could reach Volkswagen Group boss’ Martin Winterkorn’s goal of 150,000 units by 2015, Mueller said: “I think that if we do everything right we could even achieve that a bit earlier. Our objective is to have more than 200,000 units a year by 2018.”

At the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, Porsche will unveil the new Porsche Panamera S Hybrid.

Refresher: Power for the 2012 Porsche Panamera S Hybrid comes from a 3.0L supercharged V6 engine making 333-hp. It is mated to a 47-hp electric-motor, which gets power from a nickel metal hydride battery that stores energy from braking and other driving situations. Mated to a 8-speed Tiptronic S transmission, the 2012 Porsche Panamera S Hybrid runs from 0 to 60 mph in 5.7 seconds with a top speed of 167 mph. The Panamera S Hybrid can also drive on pure electricity for one mile at speeds of just over 50 mph. Fuel-economy wise, the Panamera S Hybrid averages a combined fuel-economy of 34.5 mpg. Sales in the United States will begin in late 2011 with prices starting at $95,000.