Amid the continuous downturn of the Chinese economy and consumer downgrading, sales of luxury cars have plummeted significantly. Multiple stores of the German luxury car brand Porsche have been closed. Last month, several industry insiders revealed to Chinese media that Porsche had started layoffs in China, cutting both regular and outsourced positions.
In recent times, it was exposed that Porsche has closed stores in cities such as Zhengzhou, Yiwu, and Tangshan.
On the last day of 2024, Mr. Tian, a Porsche owner in Zhengzhou, mentioned that the Zhengzhou Jinsui Porsche City Service Center, where he regularly went for maintenance, ceased operations in December.
According to reports from Chinese media outlets “Dahe Daily” and China Economic Net, the person in charge of the Jinsui Porsche City Service Center in Zhengzhou, Henan, stated that the center stopped operating in December 2024 and that the subsequent services would be provided by the Zhengkai Porsche Center in Zhengzhou. The reason for closing the store was cited as the high rental costs, which led to continuous losses.
In addition to Zhengzhou, the Inner Mongolia Ordos Porsche Center officially closed on October 31, 2024, the Tangshan Porsche Center in Hebei stopped dealership operations on December 31, 2024, with follow-up services taken over by the Tianjin Airport Porsche Center. The Yiwu Porsche Center, which had the highest sales volume at the county level, is now deserted.
Earlier reports stated that at the beginning of 2024, Porsche closed its 100th sales outlet in China, the Guangzhou Porsche eXperience Space at Tianhe Square in Guangzhou.
Some Porsche owners have noticed that the 3-year New Year gift promised by the official at the time of purchase has been canceled. Porsche’s Chinese employees confirmed that there are currently no plans for a large-scale distribution of New Year gifts. The “Above and Beyond” test drive event that Porsche has been holding in China since entering the market in 2011 has also been canceled this year.
Last month (December 17th), several industry insiders informed Chinese media that the luxury car brand Porsche had initiated staff layoffs in China, cutting both regular and outsourced positions, with compensation executed following the N+6 standard. On the same day, Porsche China denied the layoffs and related information to “Jiemian News” but acknowledged that the internal organizational structure was undergoing “optimization restructuring.”
In the first three quarters of 2024, global deliveries of the Porsche Taycan amounted to only 14,000 vehicles, a 50% year-on-year decline.
Official data shows that from January to September 2024, Porsche’s global cumulative delivery volume was 226,000 vehicles, a 7% decline compared to the same period the previous year. The most severe decline was observed in the Chinese market, where Porsche’s deliveries were around 43,300 vehicles, representing a 29% year-on-year decrease.
This marks the second consecutive year of declining sales for Porsche in the Chinese market. In 2023, China was the only single market worldwide where Porsche saw a decline, with a 15% year-on-year drop. Also, in 2023, North America replaced China as Porsche’s largest single market.