Porsche to raise cayenne output

BERLIN: Porsche AG will boost production of the Cayenne sportutility vehicle next year after surging deliveries of the sports-car maker’s best-selling model spurred a 37% sales gain in the first half.

Cayenne output will increase by 10% to 20% starting in 2012, Bernhard Maier, Porsche’s sales chief, said in an interview. Demand for the vehicle, which starts at $48,200, caused delivery times to peak to as high as 12 months in markets such as China. Porsche wants waiting time to be no longer than six months.

Porsche SE, which jointly owns the sports-car maker with Volkswagen AG (VOW), plans to merge with the Wolfsburg, Germany-based manufacturer.

Backed by VW’s resources, the maker of the 911 aims to double sales to about 200,000 vehicles by 2018 by adding a compact SUV and increasing sales in emerging markets. Porsche should boost deliveries to more than 100,000 this year from 97,000 in 2010.