Times may be tough for the economies of the world, but the global pinch has yet to reach the Porsche-driving classes.
The luxury car giant omn Wednesday revealed it had already sold a record number of cars in 2012.
Porsche delivered 128 978 vehicles worldwide in the 11 months to November, beating the 118 868 sold in the whole of 2011.
Porsche has seen surging demand for its vehicles in 2012, with salesin November alone up 39 percent on the previous year, and the luxury sector showing no sign of the malaise hampering the lower end of the car market.
The boom in sales has been driven by China and the US, where Porsche reported sales growth of 63.4 percent and 71.4 percent respectively.
GOOD NEWS FOR VOLKSWAGEN
Europe, where overall car sales have fallen by more than seven percent overall, did not prove so fruitful, although Porsche still managed growth of 6.8 percent on the continent.
The result is good news for Volkswagen, which completed a €4.46 billion (R62 billion) takeover of the iconic sports-car company in July.
Porsche sales and marketing director Bernhard Maier said: “The fact we have already surpassed the previous year's result in November is no reason for us to rest on our laurels.
“On the contrary, it is an incentive to deliver maximum performance in the next year.”
RECORD NUMBERS FOR JAGUAR TOO
Meanwhile, Jaguar Land Rover also posted record numbers on Wednesday as it announced it had sold 29 893 cars in November.
The Indian-owned car maker enjoyed a 14 percent increase in sales on the same period a year earlier.
Earlier in the week it announced it was carrying out a feasibility study to look at the possibility of making cars in Saudi Arabia in an attempt to tap the country's vast oil wealth. - The Independent