According to Porsche's recent global sales report, 77,640 new vehicles were delivered to customers worldwide in the first quarter of this year, a slight decrease of 4% compared to the same period in 2023. This decline is not large, many people may think that the editor is the title party when they see this, but if you continue to look at Porsche's sales data in China, the word "big fall" is worthy of the name.
China is Porsche's largest sales market, with long-term rapid growth and accounting for more than 30% of global sales. According to public data, Porsche's sales in China from January to March this year were only 16,340 new cars, a year-on-year drop of 24% (21,365 units sold in the first quarter of 2023), and Porsche's global share of the Chinese market also fell to 21%.
Also declining was the North American market, where sales fell by 23% from 19,651 to 15,087 units in the first quarter of 2024. The world's top two markets are both experiencing declines of more than 20 percent, and Porsche is undoubtedly under tremendous pressure to perform. Fortunately, the strong performance in Europe and emerging markets made Porsche's overall sales figures in the first quarter of this year not too ugly. Among them, the German market has the fastest sales growth, achieving sales of 11,274 units, a year-on-year increase of 37%, and has the potential to catch up with China and North America.
Porsche's sales figures for the first quarter of 2024 in major markets around the world
In the past two years, the sales of most domestic joint venture brands have shrunk, and the market generally points to the rise of new energy vehicles and domestic brands. Most of the hardest hit are low-end brands (such as Honda and GM), and due to the greater advantages of high-end car brands such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW, they can still stabilize sales. But why is Porsche, also a luxury brand, experiencing such a big decline?
Since Porsche does not have a factory in China, it does not have any price advantage compared to other luxury cars. For example, the official guide price of the Macan model is 578,000-858,000 yuan, the guide price of the Mercedes-Benz GLC, which is also a mid-size SUV, is 428,000-531,000 yuan, and the price of BMW's mid-size SUV is lower, with the X3 only 399,000-487,000 yuan. It can be seen that compared with competing models of the same level, Porsche is not afraid of advantages, even if it is a price reduction promotion, the imported car Porsche cannot compete with the highly localized Mercedes-Benz and BMW in terms of cost. (The above prices are official guide prices, excluding dealer discounts)
In the past two years, the media has repeatedly exposed the news of disputes between Porsche dealers and consumers, and 4S often appears as arrogant and arrogant, which has a great negative impact on the brand image and reputation. There are other brands in the market that are in a similar situation, but in the mindset that this kind of thing should not happen to Porsche. After all, consumers spend more money, rush to luxury and high-end, and deserve better service and experience. However, the behavior of the Porsche 4S store has seriously damaged the brand image and market recognition, which is also closely related to Porsche's lack of management of dealers.
In addition, Porsche is lagging behind in the transition to the new energy sector, and is far behind the market in terms of technology. Take Porsche's Taycan as an example, a pure electric model of about 1 million is not as good as a domestic brand of more than 200,000 in terms of battery life, performance, intelligence, etc., it can be said that there is no bright spot except for brand advantages, and the cost performance is extremely low. In this case, Porsche has only one way to go through price reduction promotion, and Taycan's price reduction in China has reached more than 200,000, and it was once ridiculed by netizens as "buy Porsche and get Xiaomi".
A combination of several factors has led to the decline in sales of Porsche. Not only in the first quarter of this year, Porsche's overall sales in China fell sharply by 15% last year. Young consumers in China are becoming more and more rational, and their perception of brands is also changing.