Porsche's former distributor, Precision Cars India sues Porsche for breach of contract

Yesterday, we had reported that Volkswagen Group had officially announced that it had reached an agreement to fully acquire the Porsche brand with the company set to buy the remaining 50.1 per cent stake in the sport car brand for a sum of 4.46 billion euros, that is expected to get underway next month. 

However, even before Volkswagen Group could ink the Porsche acquisition deal, it has run into glitchy situation in the country. Precision Cars India (PCI,) who were appointed as the exclusive importer and distributor of Porsche cars, back in 2007 has sternly opposed the appointment of Volkswagen Group Sales India as the sole importer and has reportedly, dragged the company to court. 

Porsche India has issued public notices stating that Volkswagen Group Sales India is the sole importer of Porsche cars and have appealed to the customers not to deal with any other entities. On the other hand, Precision Cars India is contesting it saying Porsche's act was a breach of contract. 

"Precision Cars India Pvt Ltd has initiated proceedings before jurisdiction forums against illegal and actions in breach of contract taken by the manufacturers." a PCI spokesperson said. 

He declined to share details and comment further on the public notice by Porsche India, which specified three dealers in Mumbai, Gurgaon and Chandigarh as the only official Porsche dealerships in India, saying "the matter is subjudice".

"We request members of the public not to deal with any person(s)/entities apart from those expressly mentioned above (the three dealers) for sales or service relating to the Porsche brand vehicles in the Republic of India," the public notice said.

Earlier in April this year, Porsche had announced Volkswagen Group Sales India as the official importer of all Porsche cars into India saying it was anticipating further positive sales growth across its range in India. 

Prior to this, Porsche had started selling cars in India through PCI, which was appointed as the exclusive distributor, in 2007 with the opening of two showrooms in Delhi and Mumbai. Since then, PCI had expanded Porsche dealerships through franchise route to seven cities, including Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad.