With the release of December sales figures, the year 2022 has officially come to an end. Let’s take a look at last year’s performance.
Clearly, the progressive increase in the penetration rate of the new energy market has established BYD, Tesla, and other new energy brands’ positions in the car market. However, as the primary source of revenue for most traditional companies, the evolution of the gasoline market continues to have an impact on the whole sector. The first half of the year saw companies shut down and towns go silent, while the second half saw the purchase tax on fuel vehicles cut in half and incentives raised. Under “risk hedging,” the domestic passenger automobile market ultimately reached a retail sales volume of 20.543 million units last year, a 1.9% year-on-year rise.
In fact, luxury brands outperform most self-owned and household joint venture businesses in terms of sales toughness. This is seen in BBA’s market performance during the last two years. However, according to the most recent numbers, BMW, Mercedes, and Audi all recorded a drop in cumulative sales in China last year. Similarly, Porsche is positioned as a more luxurious brand.
According to Porsche’s official numbers for the fiscal year 2022, the company delivered 309,884 cars globally last year, a 3% increase year on year. Deliveries in Germany, Europe (excluding Germany), and other international and emerging markets all increased year on year, with the highest increase reaching 13%. North American deliveries were flat at 79,260 units. With 93,286 deliveries, China remained Porsche’s largest single market, but it was the only market to slip, down 2% year on year.
Porsche, at least in China, is without a doubt one of the companies that best comprehends the “ultra-luxury” preferences of people around the world. It can be seen from the fact that Porsche is always able to accurately grasp the pulse of times and catch up with one opportunity after another by laying out its layout in the pure electric field, and relying on Taycan to become the first profitable brand in the traditional ultra-luxury brand field, whether from the lower brand attitude, take the lead in launching sports luxury SUV products like Cayenne and Macan to seize market dividends.
As a result, Porsche has seen a quick increase in global deliveries. With annual deliveries of 95,604 and 86,724 respectively, the Porsche Cayenne and Macan are deserving of the major sales force in terms of a single model. Ferrari’s first SUV, the Purosangue, which costs close to 5 million yuan, was also introduced last year, demonstrating the market’s potential and allure. Additionally, Porsche’s executive coupe Panamera and “spirit model” 911 delivered 40,410 and 34,142 units, respectively, up 5% and 13% year over year, while the pure electric Taycan had a 16% decline in sales but there were still deliveries of 34,801 units.
Contrary to Porsche’s consistent growth on a global scale, the unrest that began at the end of April last year has somewhat harmed Porsche’s brand image in China, which could be one of the causes of the drop in sales. Obviously, even though it is understandable that the chip shortage is limiting production capacity of new cars, especially high-end models, Porsche does not reduce prices in response to the reduction, instead offering a meager “compensation” and even treating Chinese users differently, which is what started the entire Internet attack. Porsche finally provided a solution of “free restoration of associated features” and a one-year warranty extension in response to public pressure, although many users are still unsatisfied.
Admittedly, if you consider the context of part shortages and logistical limitations, Porsche’s 2% decline in deliveries in China is within the normal range. Porsche in particular has not experienced much of a drop in sales on a global scale. According to the unpleasant but accurate statement that “Most of the people who have complained about Porsche are not Porsche’s targeted consumers”. Last year’s sales figures give an indication of how Porsche will treat its Chinese customers.