The all-new Macan compact SUV is a smash hit for Porsche, with the 10,000 units Porsche allotted for the U.S. in 2014 is already sold out. Good for them, right? Sort of. With half-year or longer waiting lists, it could lose buyers, especially all those new-to-the-brand customers which comprise about 80 percent of Macan buyers. Not too keen on turning those conquests away, Porsche is attempting to keep Macan customers happy with short-term, open-ended leases on a Boxster or Cayman until such time as their Macan rolls off the truck, according to a report in Automotive News .
“I hate to have customers who don’t know Porsche to visit for the first time a Porsche dealership, prepare to enter the family and then get an answer from the dealer, ‘Oh, yes, we’d love to have you, but you have to wait six or seven months to get your order,’” said Detlev von Platen, CEO of Porsche Cars North America.
Porsche is seeing a positive response to the recently launched program, according to the report, which has set monthly lease rates comparable to what customers would pay for a Macan. Porsche expects to boost the U.S. allocation to 18,000 Macans per year as soon as next year, according to the report, which could help alleviate the waiting-list problem if demand is sustained at its current level. Given how good the Cayman and Boxster are, however, it will be interesting to see how many of these customers try to stay in the sports cars rather than switch to their SUVs when they finally arrive.
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