Porsche 2005 Annual Report Download - page 6

The waves of attention triggered by Porsche’s acquisition of
a stake in Volkswagen has now receded. Anyone who has
examined our arguments openly and without prejudice over re-
cent months can only agree with the industrial logic behind
this far-reaching commitment. In purely investment terms, the
participation has already paid off for Porsche. The value is
now around one billion Euro higher, as can easily be seen from
the increased stock-exchange rate for VW’s shares. Porsche
has two seats on the VW Supervisory Board, and can thus con-
tribute its knowledge and experience to the Group. We are
supporting the Group’s Board of Management in its restructur-
ing efforts and are seeking an open dialog at all levels.
Anyone who invests over three billion Euro in a holding must
fully accept and uphold their responsibilities. Those who know
us are aware that our commitment is not geared to short-term
return, but is given with the future in mind. The stake has not
only allowed Porsche to place its long-standing development
and manufacturing partnership with VW on an even firmer foun-
dation, but has also created the basis for more intensive and
successful collaboration in the future. There is no doubt that
the long-term objectives for our investment are being system-
atically pursued – to the benefit of both companies.
Porsche AG will increase its voting rights in Volkswagen to
25.1 percent to secure a generally applicable blocking minori-
ty once, as anticipated, the VW Act becomes invalid. Almost all
legal experts believe that the European Court of Justice will
declare key sections of the Act to be invalid, with this decision
expected in fall 2007. We share the doubts about these provi-
sions, particularly as they already prevent us from exercising
in full our shareholders’ rights at Volkswagen. Regardless of
this, we remain firmly convinced that Volkswagen will return to
the Champions League of the international automotive industry
faster than is generally expected. Our involvement will also
contribute to this.
The concern voiced by some critics that we might lose sight
of our own business given the scope of the tasks at Volks-
wagen is unfounded. I can assure you that Porsche will remain
the focus of our thoughts and actions, as, incidentally, was
also the case during the decision-making process itself. We
will do our very best to continue our company’s success story
in the future. And the outlook is favorable.
The next step in our product campaign will take place at the
beginning of 2007 with the market launch of the new Cayenne.
This model boasts an even more attractive design, new direct-
injection petrol engines with optimized consumption and addi-
tional options for enhancing driving performance even further.
These are our trump cards for offering our customers even
greater added value. We are convinced that the new Cayenne
will receive an extremely warm reception on the markets.
Since its introduction in 2002, our sporty off-road vehicle
has sold over 140,000 units – a success that significantly
exceeded even our own expectations. And this volume was
achieved without any ex-works price rebates or discounts like
the ones that are the order of the day for our competitors,
particularly in the USA. The decline in sales of the Cayenne in
North America can be largely offset by growth in other regions.
Today, Porsche is represented in over 100 markets and thus
has a wide international sales base. This is also one of the
reasons for our company’s current success.
We are counting on this powerful distribution network for the
introduction of the Panamera in 2009. This will be our fourth
model series after the 911, the Boxster/Cayman and the Cay-
enne. This attractive, four-door, premium-class sports coupé
will offer sufficient room for four adults with luggage while still
bearing the distinguishing marks of a genuine Porsche. As
with the Cayenne, the Panamera will give us the opportunity to
tap into entirely new customer groups for the company and
the Porsche brand.
Until then, our growth will rely on the new Cayenne and our
two sports car model series. Customers love the current gene-
rations of the Boxster, the Cayman and particularly the 911.
Our strategy of providing variants has broadened our product
range even further.
Porsche is excellently positioned for the Future
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