Porsche has announced its first quarter results, posting a 5 percent loss worldwide compared to the same time period of last year, mainly due to the coronavirus pandemic and imposed restrictions.
From January to March, the German automaker sold a total of 53,125 vehicles globally, 2,575 less than in Q1 2019. Out of these, 14,098 were shipped to China, a 17 percent decrease, and 11,994 to the United States, down 20 percent.
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The Asia-Pacific, Africa and Middle East regions accounted for 22,031 vehicles, down 8 percent, while in Europe, sales have surged by 20 percent, from 14,004 to 16,787 units. However, Germany received 5,214 cars in the first quarter of the year, posting a 6 percent loss.
“We are not alone in clearly feeling the effects of the coronavirus crisis on our deliveries. But our focus now is on standing together with our business partners worldwide. Working together, we are in a position to react quickly and appropriately to further developments“, said Detlev von Platen, Member of the Executive Board for Sales and Marketing.
“After this challenging first quarter, we are now actively preparing to restart production. Our top priority will always be the health of our employees, the employees of our retail partners and, of course, the health of our customers “, he added. “We are confident that the outlook is positive, not least because we see a clear recovery in the Chinese market; almost all of our Porsche Centers there have already reopened.”
Porsche’s best-selling model in the first three months of 2020 was the Cayenne, with 18,417 units, whereas the premium compact Macan followed it closely, with 15,547. Surprisingly, the 911 sports car proved to be more popular with customers, witnessing a 16 percent increase compared to the same period of the previous year, accounting for 8,482 sales. The brand’s first electric vehicle, the Taycan, which has been around since the end of 2019, was chosen 1,391 times in the first quarter.
