Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
Porsche is reducing the number of dealerships in China in response to decreasing customer demand and lower sales, said Alexander Pollich, President and CEO of Porsche China. “With declining customer demand and reduced sales, optimizing the dealership network has become necessary. We want to ensure our partners stay profitable in the local market,” Pollich added.
The company experienced a 29% drop in sales in China over the first nine months of the year, the largest car market in the world. This decline, along with changes to their models, led to a 7% decrease in global sales, totaling 226,026 units from January to September.
In October, during Porsche’s third-quarter investor call, Chief Financial Officer Lutz Meschke announced that Porsche would significantly reduce its dealership network in China. Operating profits fell by 41% to €974 million for the July-to-September quarter. Revenue also decreased to €9.1 billion from €9.7 billion, although Porsche kept its full-year financial outlook after lowering it in July.
Pollich explained that Porsche needs to adjust its dealership channels to maintain the overall health of its sales network in China. The company plans to streamline its network over the next two years, keeping about 100 dealerships by the end of 2026. Currently, and according to Chinese media outlet IT Home, Porsche operates 138 dealerships in the country.
Last month, CFO Lutz Meschke stated that Porsche will continue investing in combustion engines. He mentioned that funds are being directed toward gas engines for the Cayenne and Panamera models. The V-8 engine will remain in use for SUVs into the 2030s.
Meschke also noted that some future models originally designed as electric vehicles might include hybrid or combustion engines. “We are looking at the possibility of the originally planned all-electric vehicles having a hybrid drive or a combustion engine. We are making these decisions now. We are sticking with the combustion engine for much longer,” he said.
Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
