Porsche CEO Oliver Blume Pins Hopes On Redesigned Panamera Sedan, Expects Sales To Rise By A Third Next Year

Porsche’s Panamera sedan is set to be back with an all-new redesigned second generation model, which Porsche’s CEO Oliver Blume expects will increase sales by at least a third next year.

Blume is betting on the car’s enhanced digital features and more efficient engines to boost demand for the model. The 113,000 euro ($125,000) four-door Panamera will hit European showrooms in November and a slightly extended version will be available in the Chinese market by early 2017. The Chinese version is about six inches longer than the standard version.

“China is still on a high level, though not where it was two to three years ago,” Blume reportedly said at the model's unveiling in Berlin Tuesday. “The new model represents a completely redeveloped automobile — with new engines, a new design and new technologies. To this end, we have invested a sum of $550 million — which includes a completely new body manufacturing facility.”

The Volkswagen-owned Porsche expects to see over 20,000 cars sold per month. The earlier version was launched during the 2009 financial crisis when premium car buyers avoided spending.

“The concept [of the Panamera] required a lot of courage and many said we were crazy,” Blume said. “But courage changes everything.”

Research firm IHS Automotive predicts that the new Panamera will do well. Sales of the Panamera may more than double to 35,444 cars by 2020, IHS says. It helps that the Panamera will be cutting down on costs by sharing a platform with models from Volkswagen's Audi and Bentley brands.

The Panamera’s diesel version will still continue despite Volkswagen’s diesel emissions scandal. “Today there are still many markets where diesel is indispensable to fulfill CO2 limits,” Blume said. “In the U.S. there are still many friends of diesel who appreciate the long-distance range.”