With China automotive sales growing 35 percent, Porsche is forecasting that it will hit a record in its worldwide deliveries in 2011, placing the country on track in overtaking the United States as its largest market by 2014, according to the carmaker’s head of China, Helmut Broeker. Daimler AG unit Mercedes-Benz, BMW AG as well as Porsche all posted increases in their four-month sales in the country, exceeding 30 percent as increasing numbers of high-class Chinese consider luxury cars from Germany-based automobiles as status symbols. These increases are outperforming a slow-paced overall market, which advanced 8.1 percent in the first three months this year, the weakest in two years, says Autonews.

According to senior analyst Tim Urquhart at London-based industry consultant IHS Automotive, customers in China are becoming more brand-savvy, and Porsche is a “very potent brand.” German manufacturers of premium vehicles are relying on China to obtain increased profit because higher demand in the country for luxury goods equates their capability to charge more for their cars. On another note, Chinese customers are ordering Porsche’s Carrera sports vehicle because they will still have to wait an average of 15 months for delivery – the longest for the vehicle around the world - for the 893,000 yuan ($137,000) Cayenne SUV, which has a 3.0-liter engine. The closest rival for the Cayenne is BMW's X6 SUV, which has a price starting at 1.05 million yuan. Prices for Cayenne and X6 sell in China are more than double its U.S. price.