Porsche Panamera to enter China in late 2009

Shanghai, November 7 (Gasgoo.com) Porsche's new luxury sedan Panamera will be introduced to China by the fourth quarter of 2009 after it's launched globally by the third quarter of next year, Beijing News reported today, citing Porsche China.

Porsche China general manager Helmut Broeker said Panamera, as Porsche's first four-door sporty car, will combine the quality of high-perfomance sporty sedan and MPV and will rival the same level models such as BMW 7-series and Audi A8. Porsche hopes that Panamera sales can be equal to the sales of the current Cayenne SUV when introduced in China, Helmut Broeker noted.

Panamera reportedly will use the 4.8-liter V8 variants found in the current Cayenne SUV. And like BMW and Mercedes-Benz, Porsche has also announced its intention to add a hybrid sedan to its lineup. The Porsche Panamera Hybrid will use the same system slated for the Cayenne Hybrid and is expected to arrive in China later.

Porsche sold around 6,500 cars in China from January to October this year and its sales are expected to reach 7,000 units for the whole year, according to Helmut Broeker. Porsche China will also increase its dealerships in China to 30 by adding three by the year end.