By Gilles Castonguay
MONTE CARLO--Porsche AG sales chief Bernhard Maier said Thursday
the German sportscar maker will keep building its cars in its home
country regardless of what happens to the euro.
"Our customers like it that their Porsche is made in Germany,
it's reassuring to them," Mr. Maier told reporters on the sidelines
of a congress hosted by Automotive News Europe, an industry
publication.
He said Porsche would have to defend the image of its brand.
The Stuttgart-based firm has a large exposure to swings of the
euro against other major currencies as it produces all its cars in
Germany, but a large chunk of production is being exported to such
destinations as the U.S. and China.
A potential collapse of the euro could trigger Germany's return
to the deutsche mark, which would cause major headaches for many
German industrial firms as economists expect the mark to quickly
appreciate against other currencies, making exports significantly
less profitable.
Mr. Maier said Porsche hadn't made any preparations for an
eventual demise of the euro, an outcome that has risen in light of
investor concerns about Greece's possible withdrawal from the euro
zone and the impact this could have on other countries that use the
common currency.
"We have not prepared ourselves, but we are watching it
carefully," he said after giving a presentation at the
congress.
Should Germany be forced to bring back the mark, Mr. Maier said
Porsche would look to cut costs by shifting production to other
areas in the country and use its relationship with Volkswagen AG
(VOW.XE) to share costs.
Volkswagen, Europe's largest auto maker by sales volume, owns a
49.9% stake in the sportscar maker and wants to take over the
remaining 50.1% from its affiliate's umbrella firm, Porsche
Automobil Holding SE (PAH3.XE), as soon as possible to reap
economies of scale through closer cooperation.
Mr. Maier reiterated Porsche expects full-year car sales to
increase compared with 2011 despite swirling economic concerns in
Europe and it sticks to its long-term target of boosting annual
sales volume to 200,000 vehicles. In 2011, Porsche sold around
118,000 vehicles.
"Sales are looking pretty good," he said. "It is not the entire
world that is in deep trouble. It is a Europe issue."
Porsche had seen sales grow in Germany and other parts of
Europe, as well as North America and Asia, he said.
Porsche is working to broaden its product portfolio to comprise
six or seven model lines, but not more, he said. It has four model
lines with the Boxster/Cayman, the Cayenne sports utility vehicle,
the four-door Panamera coupe and the flagship 911 sportscar.
Porsche will launch a small SUV next year based on the Cayenne,
but for the time being it has ditched the idea of developing a
model below the current Boxster roadster.
-Christoph Rauwald in Frankfurt contributed to this article.
Write to Gilles Castonguay at gilles.castonguay@dowjones.com