Car buyers of means appear to be looking to high-end imports again -- good news for Sandy Springs-based Porsche Cars North America.
The company recorded its best May since 2007 and reported that sales for the first five months of 2011 rose 47 percent from the same period last year.
Other luxury import automakers, including Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW also posted sales gains.
Porsche attributed some of its sales bump to a new model of the Cayenne SUV, which logged 5,868 sales from January through May this year, up from 2,109 in the same period of 2010.
That accounted for much of the overall gain by Porsche Cars North America. Sales rose to 12,996 for the first five months from 8,842 for the same period last year.
"There's been quite a bit of movement with the luxury segment in the last six months or so. It started for us towards the end of last year," Porsche spokesman Dave Engelman said.
Noting the uptick at other high-end import automakers, he added, "There seems to be a bigger trend going in that direction."
Mercedes-Benz USA reported May sales of 20,306 vehicles, a 5.9 percent gain over May 2010. Mercedes said it was the best May sales performance since 2008. Mercedes said year-to-date sales of 95,458 vehicles are up 8.5 percent over last year.
Audi reported the best May U.S. sales in company history with a 13.6 percent increase -- to 10,457 vehicles sold from 9,205 in May 2010. It was the third-best month in Audi of America history, a company statement said.
The BMW Group in the U.S., which includes BMW and Mini, reported May sales of 26,452 vehicles, an increase of 19.7 percent from 22,092 in May 2010.
Porsche announced three weeks ago that it would move its North American headquarters from Sandy Springs to the former Ford Motor plant site near Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. As part of the deal, Porsche will build offices where the plant was demolished and a test track.
