250,000th Porsche Cayenne Rolls Off the Line

Wow, 250,000 units! That's a whole lot of Porsche Cayennes! No doubt the car has proved to be a huge success for the small automaker, surely validating the imperative to better position Porsche for the future with more models in it's lineup.

10 years ago would have thought an SUV would be Porsche's best selling vehicle? Or that Porsche would be close to owning the entirety of Volkswagen AG? One thing is clear: a lot has changed since the car's debut in 2002.

Vehicle 250,000 illustrates this very well; it is a white, V6 diesel (!) Cayenne destined for Austria. The large amount of buyers in this segment and high asking price has proved to be an explosive formula for Porsche.

For some reason I do like the styling of the previous generation Cayenne (the original) better as it was more Porsche-like in my eyes.

With the Cayenne, Porsche tapped into a whole new market they were missing before. Previous 911 and Boxter customers that have families and therefore other vehicles now could purchase a Porsche for that as well.

Just look at the success the company has achieved since it's introduction, all while continuing to further develop it's sports-car models. In addition it has helped reach emerging markets like China, Russia, Latin America and the Middle East.

Purists may have denounced it at the beginning, but it has proven integral to the company. It took foresight, but CEO Wendelin Wiedeking has led the company well with it's new products. 

It was smart to expand the Porsche portfolio so the company wasn't just reliant on only the iconic 911 and Boxter. That strategy continues to this day with the 4th model, the Panamera. Porsche is definitely an example of  a small company ran right.  Say what you want, but the strategy has worked and Porsche today is better off for it.