Porsche wins ‘Marken-Award 2015’

Porsche received the intersectoral brand award “Marken-Award 2015” because the sports car manufacturer successfully entered the segment of compact SUVs with the Macan and thereby tapped into a new group of customers.

The accolade is awarded by “Absatzwirtschaft,” a leading German magazine in the marketing field, for Macan’s market launch which was designed by Porsche marketing and internationally established.

This is not the first winner’s medal for the four-door sports car that was introduced in 2014. The engineering, production and sales accomplishment of Porsche already impressed other groups, such as the award committee for the “Golden Steering Wheel” award. The Macan received this prestigious award as the best new automotive product in Europe in 2014.

The latest model impresses on both the podium and the road. The Macan is already a sales success with 45,000 units sold, and these just represent the period from its market launch last April 2014 through December of the same year.

Ramping up production

Porsche AG has announced that production of the SUV will now be ramped up to over 60,000 units annually. The compact Macan is the fifth model series of Porsche AG after the 911, Boxster/Cayman, Cayenne and Panamera, and attracts a lot of attention from a new range of customers.

“Three-quarters of Macan customers worldwide are first-time buyers of a Porsche brand vehicle,” said Kjell Gruner, Porsche AG vice president for marketing. This means that the Macan is tapping into a new customer segment.

Worth noting: The Macan appeals to a new generation of Porsche drivers—and one that differs from country to country. While the typical Macan customer in Germany and the United States is male, almost one-half of customers in China are women. With an average age of 35, Macan drivers in China are also significantly younger than their Western counterparts.

The market forecast for the new model by the Stuttgart-based sportscar producer is good. Accordingly to various predictions, SUVs are by far the fastest-growing market segment worldwide.

Since the late 1990s, the number of new SUV purchases in Germany has grown almost unabated over the past 12 years—with an average growth rate of 13 percent. By 2020, the market share in Germany could rise up to an additional 45 percent.

The Macan is available in four variants: the R4, the Diesel, the S, and the Turbo. The Macan mode range has a combined fuel consumption of 9.2-6.1 liters per 100 kilometers and carbon dioxide emissions of 216-159 grams per km.

In its segment, the Macan S excels with typical roadster design and dynamic specifications as its torque (460 Newton-meters), top speed (254 km per hour) and acceleration (from 0 to 100 kph in 5.4 seconds). Buyers can also customize their new cars extensively from the air suspension to the high-end surround sound system.

“Each one is a sports car, each unmistakable in its segment. And each one is a genuine Porsche—from their design to their driving dynamics and equipment,” is how Bernhard Maier, member of the executive board for sales and marketing, described the market placement of the premium vehicle. “This applies in particular to the sporty S version, the efficient marathoner with a diesel engine and the Turbo, which sets new performance standards in its vehicle class.”