POLE POSITION
Porsche is forecasting strong sales of the luxury car brand in South Africa
PORSCHE South Africa is forecasting strong sales of the luxury car brand in South Africa this year despite the intense pressure on household disposable income.
Toby Venter, the chief executive of LSM Distributors, which trades as Porsche Centre South Africa, yesterday also announced an investment of R100 million in upgrading the track, conference and other facilities at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit to make it the premier motoring and motorsport facility in Africa.
Venter also confirmed Porsche Centre SA was considering the further expansion of its dealer network following the opening of its new R150m Porsche Centre in Pretoria last month and the construction of a centralised parts distribution centre at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit.
The handover of the circuit site to the contractors following a tender process took place on April 24 and off track earthworks had commenced.
The circuit was officially closing at 1pm today and was expected to reopen by September this year.
Venter said the vast scope of the changes would ensure this project would represent the single largest upgrade in the circuit’s 54-year history.
The project includes the full resurfacing and change in circuit layout; the return of iconic original circuit corner names, such as Crowthorne Barbeque, Sunset, the Esses and Leeukop; a new circuit underpass; upgrades and changes to spectator areas and service road upgrades; and major upgrades to the conferencing and exhibition areas.
Venter said Porsche Centre SA was anticipating sales of about 1 450 unit sales this year compared to 1 146 units last year and record sales of 2 438 units in 2013, which were boosted by the strength of the rand.
The price of Porsche models range from R780 000 for a Boxster to R3.072m for a 911 Turbo S Cabriolet.
Venter said the biggest reason people bought Porsche’s was because they got value.
He said although it was an expensive car, owners got value in a number of ways, including performance, quality, safety and the feeling of empowerment it gave a lot of their female customers.
“The Porsche customer in general knows what he is going to get from our product and he doesn’t find it elsewhere, plus they also have excellent resale value,” he said.
Venter said the purchase price less the resale value meant from a cost of ownership perspective a Porsche might not be as expensive as another car that cost less but depreciated more and faster.
There are now four Porsche Centre’s in South Africa in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Umhlanga and Pretoria. But Venter said there were plans for additional centres countrywide although the company would “take one step at a time” and the growth would be orderly.
He confirmed areas it was considering for additional centres included the East Rand, Bloemfontein, Nelspruit and Port Elizabeth but stressed “it’s early days and we haven’t committed to it yet”.
“We try and do it at an orderly pace that is not too pressured and also take into account the economic circumstances,” he said.