Luxury auto sector: crisis, what crisis?

• Source: Global Times
• [08:26 September 18 2009]
• Comments

"It is not the golden age, but some people dare to again display their wealth" a year after the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers," Stuermer noted.

"The luxury segment will rebound faster than that for normal consumers," Dudenhoeffer said.

While unemployment is expected to keep climbing next year, "investment bankers will make big gains, in particular with mergers and acquisitions," he said.

But even the luxury segment cannot be completely divorced from the greening movement seen everywhere at the show.

Many companies have sought to reduce the weight of their limousines and the fuel consumption of their engines.

Porsche, which many say lags behind in environmental innovation, has begun to develop petrol-electric hybrids, including its Cayenne sports utility vehicle on sale next year.

As soon as Wolfgang Duerheimer, head of research and development at Porsche, had expounded on the merits of the new SLS AMG, the head of Daimler quickly pledged to have an all-electric version by 2013.

AFP