Growth without Responsibility

PCM, the infotainment system of the Porsche, is devoid of Korean letters.
PCM, the infotainment system of the Porsche, is devoid of Korean letters.

 

The Porsche, a luxury sports car brand of the German Volkswagen Group, is enjoying strong sales in Korea despite a slump in the Korean economy. But it is said that the Porsche is falling short in terms of localization efforts.     

According to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association on February 24, the Porsche sold 3,856 units last year, an increase of 50.2 percent from 2,568 in 2014. The figure is 5.5 times its sales (705 units) in 2010, five years ago. Even though it is quite a pricey car, even the economic slump in Korea cannot stop the car from selling well.

 Hansung Motor began to officially import the sports car in 1990. In the middle of the 1990s, the car usually sold one unit a month. In 2005 Stuttgart Sports Cars Limited (SSCL) replaced Hansung Motor as the distributer in 2005. The further growth of the supercar market in Korea led the Volkswagen Group to establish Porsche Korea in 2014. 

 Although the Porsche has chalked up the rapid growth in Korea even setting up the subsidiary in Korea, many Korean customers have pointed out that the Porsche still has a long way to go in terms of localization. One good example is that the PCM, the infotainment system of the Porsche, is devoid of Korean language. Its official website for Korean customers is mostly written in English.  

Mounting criticisms finally forced Porsche Korea to provide Korean character services to the New 911 Carrera model that will be launched on February 25 for the first time. But actually, the localization was not applied to the SUV Porsche Macan nor Kaien, both of which are more popular than the New 911 Carrera. The Macan accounted for about 40 percent of total Porsche sales in Korea last year while Kaien for over 20 percent last year. But all of the Carrera models for only ten percent.     

Furthermore, some Koreans are disapproving of the automaker, claiming that Porsche Korea is quite backward about fulfilling its corporate social responsibility. Its contributions added up to 100 million won in 2014. 100 million won is less than the price of one Porsche car in Korea. When the US Environmental Protection Agency announced that Kaien diesel models were involved in the gas emission software rigging scandal last year, Porsche Korea repeated with a tepid attitude that they are checking with its headquarters in Germany. 

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