Porsche taps into China's roadster market

The latest Porsche 911 Turbo was unveiled on Tuesday at the opening of the 2006 China International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou.

The German carmaker's strong presence at the Expo was a sign of its growing focus on the Chinese market, said Mark Bishop, managing director of Porsche China.

He cited the rapid development of the roadster market in China for giving Porsche a good share of the market. Porsche entered China in 2001 and has performed strongly ever since. It sold 857 cars in 2005, and hopes to sell about 500 more units this year.

Bishop said Porsche would soon launch several other models for the Chinese market.

China's huge potential in the luxury car market has attracted almost all of the world's top automobile brands to China.

About 50 premium cars were on exhibit in Guangzhou, including six concept cars and two that were launched at the Expo. There are also almost 400 passenger cars, including 159 imported cars on display.