No Chinese Cajun. No U.S. Cajun Either
10 days ago, we reported that Porsche’s Matthias Müller had told the German magazine Focus that Porsche will decide this year whether they will build the new Cajun in China. Or in the U.S. It didn’t take them long to make up their minds.
Today, that same Matthias Müller tells China’s First Financial Daily (via Gasgoo) that although the situation in Asia and North America may force the company to consider the possibility of foreign production or assembly in the future, Porsche currently has no such plans. The company’s production base is still limited to Germany. And heavens, Porsche does not have any plans to co-produce an SUV with (rolleyes) Audi.
After Müller had shared the corporate decision-making with Focus, Chinese media was on the story like flies on fecal matter. Of course, so the speculation went, they’ll produce the Cajun at Audi’s Q5 production in China, and that means FAW would get the deal. Who knows, FAW-VW might build the Porsche Cayenne, the Audi Q7 and Volkswagen Touareg. All vehicles are in high demand in China and change hands way over sticker if you want one in a hurry. Of the 650,000 cars imported to China last year, half were SUVs. Audi alone sold 32,000 Q5s and 11,000 Q7s in China last year.
Now that Müller poured cold water on the Porsche excitement he had created, Chinese media heartily speculates who’s the next princeling from Piech’s court of brands to come to the Middle Kingdom. Volkswagen? Check. Audi? Check. Skoda? Check. Who’s next?
“The next most likely VW Group brand to make its debut in China would be the Spanish Seat,” muses Gasgoo (or First Financial Daily). They take the fact that Seat is planning to come to this year’s Shanghai Auto Show as an indication of intent to put down roots in China. If not, why bother?
And anyway, Porsche: “It is still unclear whether or not the automaker’s decision to keep production exclusive to Germany is correct or not,” tut-tuts Gasgoo.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
More by Bertel Schmitt
Comments
Join the conversation
I guess the BMW X6 doesn't sell enough over here. That's too bad. I would have like to have seen a Nissan Rogue sized Porsche do 60 in under 5 seconds.
I guess the BMW X6 doesn’t sell enough over here analogy to" with a face like X6 u really need vasectomy?" I would have like to have seen a Nissan Rogue sized Porsche do 60 in under 5 seconds. To most of these folks at 12 secs to 60 is about right, too fast may be detrimetal to their health.