Porsche's nine-month China sales drop by nearly a third

German automaker Porsche said sales in China fell sharply in the first nine months of 2024 with an 29 per cent drop. The China sales slump mirrors cars from other luxury carmakers such as BMW and Mercedes that also have had slower results as a consequence of economic problems in the region. Porsche's total sales inched down 7 per cent to 226,026 units in the first nine months of the year, with the decline in China denting sales globally. 

While Chinese consumers have driven luxury brand growth in recent years, they are now pulling back on spending as the economy in that market slows as a result of the real estate crisis. The most affected models in Porsche's line-up have been the large engine Panamera sports car and the all-electric Taycan sedan. Specifically in the Chinese market, the appetite for high end luxury vehicle dropped by 50 per cent for the Taycan and 20 per cent for the Panamera.

Porsche board member Detlev von Platen said the company faces challenges but hopes things improve in at least one respect — for Porsche, it's a particularly difficult year: 2024. And in one case, it's been difficult for us to deliver on demand due to limited product availability, von Platen said in a statement.

A broader trend is that luxury carmakers across the board are facing a slowdown in China, which is also the company’s performance there. Real estate problems have resulted in damage to China’s economic growth and dampened consumer confidence in spending on high end products such as luxury automobiles.

But Porsche is still bullish on a comeback in the long term as it rolls out new models and develops more electric vehicles.