• Ad Age, Monday, May 8, 2006 11:45 AM

Porsche, which markets some of the flashiest, fastest, and most expensive sports cars in the world, believes China is ready for its cars. Despite China's huge population, and the fast-growing spirit of capitalism and increasing number of wealthy executives there, Porsche has yet to catch on with Chinese car buyers. Part of the reason is poorly maintained, crowded roads, which has led many wealthy Chinese to hire drivers who cart them around in Mercedes-Benz or BMWs. Nonetheless, Porsche wants to convince wealthy Chinese drivers to buy a second, luxury car and is gearing up for a major marketing campaign to get their message across. The campaign is designed to get the Chinese to view Porsche more as a sports car. While that image is firmly established in developed markets, 80 percent of Porsche buyers in China take home a Cayenne, a sport utility vehicle. "Cayenne doesn't look like a sports car," said an ad agency executive in Shanghai. "In that sense, there's an identity problem. When people talk about Porsche in a Western country, they think 911 or Carrera, but when they hear about Porsche in China, they don't think of those models." Of the 88,379 cars Porsche sold last year, only 857 were in China. But that figure represented a 200 percent increase over 2004 sales, and this year the company hopes to sell 1,350 cars on the mainland.

Read the whole story at Ad Age »