Total Porsche sales fell 7 percent to 226,026, but the Cayenne was up 21 percent and 718 registrations rallied by 10 percent.
The Taycan is giving Porsche's sales team a major headache. Global deliveries of the electric four-door sedan for the first nine months of 2024 were half that of the corresponding period in 2023, and fell 35 percent in the US, new data from the automaker reveals.
Some of the blame goes to the model changeover, Porsche having revealed a facelifted Taycan in the spring that offers only small changes but vastly improved range and performance. And maybe some buyers bought or have ordered the new Macan Electric instead. But a bigger problem for Porsche - and for every other Western brand operating in the Far East - is the collapse of the Chinese market.
Porsche's global output for Jan-Sep slid 7 percent from 226,026 to 242,722, and its number one market, North America, dropped 5 percent to 61,471, while Europe increased its Porsche purchase frequency by 1 percent. But China deliveries went into freefall, shrinking by 29 percent to just 43,280. The country that until recently was Porsche's biggest market is now in third place behind the US and Europe, and in danger of falling to fourth.
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Only 14,042 Porsche buyers chose a Taycan in the the first nine months, making it the brand's least popular model line, even trailing the aging 718 series. And the Taycan's combustion cousin, the Panamera, also had a rough first three financial quarters of 2024. Sales fell 20 percent to 21,056, Porsche again attributing the drop to a model switchover and a tough situation in China.
The Macan did even worse, its sales dropping 21 percent (to 55,000), but the 911 inflated its customer base by 2 percent to 39,744 globally. And the 718 Boxster and Cayman grew their sales figures by 10 percent worldwide as buyers rushed to get orders in before the ICE model was deleted in Europe due to cybersecurity rules (it's still on sale in the US).
But moving an extra 1,800 examples of the 718s isn't what saved Porsche's Jan-Sep period from being a total disaster. It was the ever-reliable Caynene. The SUV was refreshed in late 2023 and the new lineup - including an S that swapped a boring V6 for a brawny V8 - found 21 percent more customers. Sales totaled 77,686, making it the automaker's most popular vehicle by a mile.
What do you think Porsche needs to do to kickstart Taycan sales? Build a more affordable entry-level car, a more radical redesign, or something else? Drop a comment below and let us know.