Porsche most profitable car company in the world!

[kayc]

According to recent press releases Porsche are making £2.5 mln per day which makes them the most profitable car company in the world.Does anyone else think this sums up the way this company is going?They nearly went bust in 1993 and supposedly according to most experts produced their best cars then..is there a correlation between quality and cost?Obviously there is..

[Adam B]

lots more volume going through models which share a lot of components, similar styling and miminal R&D = big profits

charging £250 so you can see out the back window properly, only giving 2 year warranties, not recalling RMS or PCCB = mega profits

[randlemarcus]

I think the fundamental difference is between engineering to a specification, and engineering to a price. One builds legendary sportscars, and maintains a storming racing heritage, and one builds excellent sportscars.

[DanH]

Porsche have been the most profitable company for some time. They are even mentioned as one of the few examples in the car industry in some economics text books.

[mikeyboy]

I know a guy who's an Autos equity analyst at a big bank who went along to the anouncement of the Cayman to investors. When they announced the suggested price he, being a cynic and not liking cars much, asked. "Erm aren't hard tops cheaper to make than soft tops." To which someone at porsche said "yes. In this case about euro8,500 less" He was surprised at this honest response for a car they were proposing to sell for 5k more so asked them to justify the difference. They did. People buy Porsches they said because they are a luxury good not just because they are a good car, as a result they will pay whatever Porsche charge them.

He wasn't wrong and the analyst agreed. He tells me to think of it this way. Porsche make good profits but nothing like Louis Vuitton who don't have to engineer F*^K all but still charge thousands for a bag!

Still, doesn't stop me wanting to pick one up for the same price as a 3 year old boxster.

>> Edited by mikeyboy on Thursday 23 February 17:51

[ChrisW.]

But who would you want to make more ?

I want to but a well engineered car --- a car that has had a lot of development cost.

When I spend my money, I want to know that somebodty will want to buy it when I fancy a change --- the sense that it has only transmitted along it's life path for a fleeting moment with me, that it will have many lives with many owners --- each enjoying it at their level.

Raw materials put to intellingent use, invested, not used (or wasted ).

The intelligent use of capital, of the energies of the people who actually built each vehicle, a very honest aspirational joi de vivre.

And I want them to make a profit --- because that is where the seed corn came from to build what I enjoy, and I want them to be able to look after me for however long I choose to own the car.

I phoned Porsche reading last week for the history of a ten year old car to check it's provenance --- they knew everything about the original build spec, the relevant identifying numbers --- all they couldn't do is let me talk to the man who signed the car off the assembly line. Now that is class.

[DanH]

Contrast that with the class they are showing denying a bunch of RS owners wheel replacements despite them seeming to have a manufacturing defect or be of insufficient quality. Now that is class.