New CEO to tackle smaller entry-level Porsche

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Porsche's new CEO Matthias Mueller has work to do if he's going to achieve the sales goal the storied sports car maker has set for itself.

When Mueller, 57, takes over as CEO of Porsche AG on October 1, his first assignment will be to revive Porsche's entry-level segment which is facing declining sales. Sales are down 12 percent in the nine months through April for the Boxster and Cayman models combined. In February, Porsche introduced the Boxster Spyder with a starting price of €53,100 ($66,900).

Porsche wants to expand its sales from 100,000 units a year currently to 150,000 units globally by 2013. To do that, Porsche will double the number of models in its lineup from four to eight. It may do that by adding an entry-level model below the Boxster as well as a small SUV based on the VW Tiguan.

"We have to make progress with Porsche. Mueller is the right person to deliver it," said VW Group CEO Martin Winterkorn at a press event earlier this week.

Mueller was formerly the head of product management at VW's Audi brand up until 2007. He's currently in charge of product planning and management at VW Group.