JEDDAH: The car industry, which was among the sectors adversely impacted by the world financial crisis in the past few years, has not only started looking up but also its luxury and sports segments continue to expand.
“Yes, the car industry is rapidly recovering and the luxury segment especially is continuously expanding,” Bernhard Maier, Porsche AG’s executive vice president of sales and marketing, said on the sidelines of the opening of a new exclusive Porsche showroom on King Road on Monday.
Mier, who was answering an Arab News question about the impact of the global economic slowdown, the Japanese crisis in the wake of earthquake and tsunami, the rising trend of oil prices and the ongoing unrest in parts of the Middle East on the automobile industry, said: “Rising figures of production indicate how the industry has come back. No doubt, the world is facing a lot of challenges and will also have to face them in the future,” he said, adding that the world car production figures speak for themselves — 55 million in 2009 and 60 million in 2010, and 90 million likely in 2018.
He highlighted the international success of the Porsche brand around the world and pointed out that the German carmaker marked a 17 percent growth rate in 2010 locally, which “represents another important milestone in the Kingdom by increasing our presence in the marketplace and echoing our reputation as the world’s leading sports car manufacturer. There is no doubt that the new facility matches the high standards and luxury of products.”
Maier, who specially came for the opening from Frankfurt, was accompanied by a team comprising Deesch Papke, director rest of world - the region which the Middle East forms part of, George Wills, acting managing director at Porsche Middle East & Africa, and Andre Oosthuizen, marketing director at the regional office.
Construction of this 7,000 square meter facility started in March 2010.
The double-story building has the capacity to exhibit 16 vehicles in the new car showroom on the ground floor as well as an additional pre-owned vehicle display area on the Mezzanine floor.
The integrated modern service facility includes 16 bays in the workshop as well as a fully equipped quick service center with an additional three service bays.
At any time, up to 45 cars can be stored for the purpose of servicing.
In addition, the building offers administration offices and a spare parts warehouse, ensuring that repairs get done within the shortest time possible.
The SR90 million center also features a special shop-in-shop section where the latest lifestyle accessories from the Porsche Design Driver’s Selection are available.
In its totality, every element is 100 percent compliant with Porsche corporate identity, materials and products coming from as far as Italy and parts of Asia.
The new facility will be the workplace for 40 Porsche staff members.
Source: Arab News, Jun 21, 2011 00:47