Porsche enjoys record sales despite industry struggles
Porsche has powered ahead of an industry-wide sales slowdown for car makers, reporting record deliveries for 2019.
The German luxury manufacturer said global deliveries rose 10 per cent to 280,000 cars in 2019, driven by demand for the Macan and Cayenne SUV models.
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Meanwhile, it predicted that its first all-electric model, the Taycan, will help it grow even further in 2020.
“We’re optimistic that we can sustain the high demand in 2020,” sales chief Detlev von Platen said.
Sales momentum should benefit from “the introduction of some new models and full order books for the Taycan,” he said.
Porsche is the most profitable division of Volkswagen, the world’s biggest car maker.
It is gearing up for a new era with the rollout of the Taycan four-door sedan, which is designed to challenge Tesla’s Model S.
The company has for years specialised in high-performance sports cars with petrol engines.
However, expanding into the electric car market will be crucial for the survival of the car maker, given the strict emissions regulations coming into play in its key markets.
Sales rose 8 percent last year in both China and the US, Porsche’s two largest markets.
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It sold 86,752 cars in China, where luxury cars have been less affected by the waning demand hurting the overall market, and 61,568 cars in the US.
In Germany, sales grew 15 percent to 31,618 vehicles.