German sports car maker Porsche is struggling in the Chinese market. Sales have halved over the past four years.
On the 16th, according to Reuters and others, Porsche's global sales last year totaled 279,449 vehicles. That was down 10% from the previous year's 310,718.
The slump was pronounced in the Chinese market. Porsche sold 41,938 vehicles in China last year, down 26% from the 2024 sales of 56,887. During the same period, BMW and Mercedes-Benz saw their China sales fall by 12.5% and 19%, respectively.
Porsche's China sales last year were less than half of the 2021 level (95,671). Porsche said it was due to "a slowdown in demand for premium cars in China and intensifying competition in the local electric vehicle market."
Sales also fell in Europe. Porsche said sales in Germany and Europe (excluding Germany) decreased by 16% and 13%, respectively. Porsche pointed to the European Union (EU) cybersecurity regulations that took effect in Jul. 2024 as a key reason. The rules required stronger software security, and in the process, some models faced supply gaps.
It held up relatively well in the North American market. Last year's sales were 86,229 vehicles, holding at a similar level to the previous year's 86,541. It was assessed to have outperformed Mercedes and Audi, whose sales fell 12% over the same period. Foreign media said the effect came from Porsche expediting registrations of inventory vehicles across the United States to reduce tariff burdens.