Porsche Panamera Exceeding Expectations, Driving Conquest Sales

New luxury vehicles tend to post exceptional sales within the first year or so of their introduction, only to taper off to more reasonable levels as the vehicle's life cycle continues.

Not so for the Porsche Panamera, a vehicle derided by Porsche loyalists that has gone on to be the brand's best-selling vehicle. In 2010, Panameras amounted for about 33 percent of Porsche's total sales, with 7,741 sold. Porsche had initially projected sales of about 5,400 per year. For 2011, the Porsche is on track to move 7,200 units of the Panamera.

The big boost for the Panamera comes in the form of conquest sales, with some 80 percent of buyers coming from competing luxury brands. Leading the tally are former Lexus owners, who make up 48 percent of conquest sales, with smaller numbers of Mercedes-Benz and BMW buyers also going for the 4-door Porsche.

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